Sold Into Love
by Malin Halibell
Summary: When Bella is dragged into the dark world of sex trade, she thinks that her life is over, but what happens when Edward Cullen is the one to buy her? Will she learn to hate him or love him? And what are Edward's motives behind buying her? Mature.
1. Chapter 1

**Some of you may have noticed that my stories disappeared. Yeah… that's Ffn's fault. I don't know how it happened, though my best guess is that I got hacked. I've taken security measures and now I'm reposting all my stories.**

**You have no idea how much of a pain in the ass that is.**

**This is Rated M for lemons, language, and sex trade in the first couple chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. I wish I owned Edward though… maybe Jasper. **

* * *

**BPOV**

This was not where I thought I would be tonight. This wasn't where I thought I would be at any time in my life at all. I didn't even think places like this really existed in the world. I always thought that this was just stuff they made up for movies or excuses for when people went missing never to be seen again, but here I was.

I, Isabella Swan, eighteen year old freshman college student, had been taken, drugged, stripped down to nothing but my underwear, and dragged out onto a dark stage.

That's where I was now, on some sort of stage with two men standing alert on either side of me holding me up by my arms. There was a man in front of me and a little to my right speaking into a microphone to the crowd in front of us. I tried to look out in to the sea of people in front of me, but it was hard. Between the drugs they shot into my arm, the lack of light in the room and the smoke everywhere, I could barely see five feet in front of me.

Through from what I could see, there were a lot of men here. There were five or six just in my line of vision, all of them wearing business suits. I could hear the man with the microphone saying something, but I couldn't make out what it was. It was over ridden by a strange buzz in my ears.

I tried to move, but I couldn't feel my body. It was like my mind was off floating somewhere on its own while my body was still grounded. My eyelids were drooping and it felt like I wanted to go to sleep, but I fought it off. I tried to listen to the man up front again. Then I realized something else about him, he was speaking a different language;_ Portuguese_.

_Of course_, I thought_. I must still be in Brazil_.

Then another part of my brain thought, _Brazil? What the hell am I doing in Brazil? _

I tried to think back to everything up until the time I was manhandled into the back of a car.

My college had been sponsoring a trip for eight lucky students - two students from each class - to take a trip to Brazil to study abroad for two months. I had been one of the two chosen from my freshman class. I had been so excited; I had never even been out of the tri-state area, let alone the country. I had said goodbye to my parents with promises to call frequently and take plenty of pictures.

My dad, Charlie, loathed to let me go, because my step-brother Riley had gone missing recently. We hadn't been that close per say, but it had caused quite the uproar in my small family. Renee and I had teamed up on Charlie, telling him that I would be safe with all the other students and teachers on the trip, until he finally agreed to let me go.

We had only been here for two weeks before everything happened last night.

I had been dragged out of my room by a couple of the other students here, Jessica Stanley - the other freshman - and Tyler Crowley - a junior, to go out to the local hot spot. A club called Dawn. When we got there the place was packed.

I was at the bar sipping on my drink when I decided that after about two hours of dancing, drinking and, in Jessica's and Tyler's case - making out, I was ready to leave. I walked around trying to find Jessica or Tyler and found them sitting in a dark corner with their tongues shoved down each other's throats.

It wasn't a very attractive sight.

Instead of disturbing them, I decided to take a cab home and call Jessica when I arrived back to my room to tell her where I was.

Now I'll admit that I was very drunk. Not '_I can't even stand up so I'm laying here in my own puke'_ drunk, but '_whoa, am I supposed to have four hands?_' drunk. As I was outside trying to hail a cab, probably stumbling all over the place and making a fool out of myself in the process, a somewhat attractive man wearing a expensive looking black suit and had long, greasy black hair walked up to me and asked if I would like a ride home.

Okay, I was drunk not stupid. I politely as possible when drunk declined his offer, but he kept insisting.

After about four times of him asking, I'd had enough. I turned to walk (or stumble) away but his hand shot out to grab my arm and then I was yanked into his chest. I went to scream for help but his hand quickly covered my mouth. A black car pulled up beside us and he threw me into the backseat, and then got in himself. He tied my hands together behind my back with what I believe was rope and then he stuck a needle into my arm.

Everything after that was really fuzzy.

I barely remember the car ride to wherever the hell we were going. I could hear the man that grabbed me off the sidewalk and someone who I assumed was the driver, taking in Portuguese but I was too far gone to try and translate anything. After that, everything was one big blur; the car stopping somewhere, one of the guys that had kidnapped me pulled me out of the backseat and into a large and extravagant looking building. I was dragged into a room and laid down on what seemed to be a couch.

Greasy haired guy brought me in and walked away over to another man and a woman. I was fighting the drugs so I wouldn't fall asleep and was struggling with the rope around my wrists, but it wouldn't budge. I could feel the effects of the drugs wearing off, so I tried sitting up to see if I could make a run for it. That didn't go to well.

I ended up toppling off the couch and falling to the ground face first. The new man that had been standing by the woman came over to me with another needle in hand, and stuck it into my arm like the last time. After a few seconds, I was feeling dizzy again.

Kidnapper guy stepped away and the woman came over to me and started to rip my clothes off. I was desperate to escape now and tried to kick the woman, but the drugs were too powerful, my leg had barely moved an inch. All I could do was lay there. Once the woman had shed me of all my clothes except my blue lacy bra and panty set, the two men grabbed me and hauled me onto the stage.

Which brings us back to now; I once again tried to make out what the guy was saying to the crowd of people, but took me a moment because I had to translate it to English. I could only catch bits an' pieces, but what I did hear chilled me to the bone.

"American college student... Only eighteen years old… Virgin… We are starting her at 100,000 dollars." Was all I could hear. It was enough.

They were selling me off to the highest bidder. I was being sold into the sex trade!

_No, no, no, no, this can't be happening_, I thought frantically. I started to panic even more as I heard men calling out bids to buy me.

"$210,000… $215,000… $230,000... $240,000!" I was torn between being sick and just passing out. I was trying to fight with the drugs, but they were still in full effect.

I looked up and saw that an older man around his fifties with beady eyes and thinning hair was eyeing me hungrily. Gross.

I was just about to give up and pass out because I no longer wanted to be awake for this, when I heard a clear and velvety voice ring out across the room.

"I'll give you $500,000!"

I looked up and into the smoky crowd as well as I could and tried to find who the voice belonged to. Afraid to see another old and balding man, I was shocked when my eyes met a face that could only belong to an angel.

I couldn't see him too well, but what I could see was beautiful. He was tall, probably around 6'2", and looked lean, but you could tell he had plenty of muscles. His hair was shocking. It looked to be only a shade or two darker than a penny and it stood out at wild and odd angles. It looked like he just rolled out of bed.

I couldn't see his face too well, the drugs that were pumping through me making my vision blurry.

I looked lower to his clothing and saw that unlike all the other men here, instead of a business suit, he wore a dark green button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark wash jeans. Another thing I was able to notice was that he defiantly didn't seem old. He looked to be no older than twenty-five years old, and that was pushing it a little.

There was murmuring all around the room as the bronze bed-head guy approached the stage. The announcer with the microphone on stage looked at him skeptically.

"$500,000? Are you sure you can afford that son?" He snickered in Portuguese.

"Of course I can, do you not know who I am, old man?" He taunted back. He was sneering at the announcer but whenever his eyes would shift to me they held something in them that I couldn't understand. Was it warmth?

"If you think you are so important, what is your name?" The announcer asked curiously.

"My name is Edward Cullen." The mystery man spoke in a velvet voice.

* * *

**Yes, I know I stopped there. Sorry! *hides under the covers***

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed or added me to their favorites/story alert.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight. I can tell this is going to get really annoying having to write this every chapter. If I owned Twilight, do you think I'd be on here?**

* * *

**EPOV**

"My name is Edward Cullen." I replied to the oily Portuguese man on the stage.

I didn't know why the hell I was doing this. It was like I was speaking on autopilot. Now, don't get me wrong, money wasn't an issue here, $500,000 was like pocket change to me. The thing was that I didn't fully get was why I felt the urge to spend it on buying this girl.

_The girl_, I thought.

First, I come in here looking for that scumbag James, who was trying to pinch money from my company so I could give him a piece of my fucking mind… or my fist. Then I look up to the stage and I see a sight that nearly breaks my heart in half for some reason. This beautiful girl; no this angel, being dragged onstage in her underwear.

She was a tiny thing that looked to be about 5'4" and around 110 to 115lbs, her skin was as white as porcelain and contrasted beautifully with her chocolate brown hair that cascaded in curls down to her waist. I slowly walked a little closer to get a better look at her face, and what I saw didn't disappoint.

Her lovely face was heart shaped with lips that were pink and full. With a nose that was perfectly straight with a slight up-turn at the end giving her what I had heard people refer to as a button nose, but I had never truly understood what they meant until now. I continued my exploration on the rest of her face. Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful pink and her eyebrows were slightly arched.

The next thing I noticed was her eyes. They were large and doe like and they were a chocolaty brown color that matched her hair, but the look in them was devastating. This angel looked broken. The look she held in her chocolate eyes was heartbreaking.

I was then aware of all the disgusting, old men in the room calling out prices to buy her_. _

_Buy my angel_.

The thought was repulsive; like she was a toy or a possession. I guess to a lot of the bastards in this room that was exactly what she was; something to own.

I suppose it was then that I made the unconscious decision to save her.

So here I was now, standing in front of this bastard that was selling her off, saying I would pay $500,000 for her. And then he has the balls to tell me, Edward Cullen, if I could afford it.

Ha.

When I told the sleazy man on stage my name, I thought he was about to have a stroke right where he stood.

"E-Edward Cullen?" He stuttered out.

"Yes, my name is Edward Cullen, and I am willing to give you $500,000 for this girl." I replied. There was something about this girl that called to me, and if I needed to pay

$500,000 or a million dollars, it didn't matter.

He looked me over once again then slowly turned back to the crowd.

"We have $500,000. Are there anymore bids?" He asked the horde of people. There were plenty of mumblings but no one said anything else.

"Okay then, sold to Mr. Cullen!" He exclaimed. He nodded to the men holding up the girl and they dragged her off the side of the stage behind a curtain.

"You can go back to collect your merchandise." He told me.

I nodded at him, hating how he referred to her, and started to walk towards the backroom. I needed to keep myself under control here or they might not give her to me if they believed I was here to help her.

I opened the door and walked in to see that the girl was curled up in a ball on a couch and one of the men that had been on stage with her was kneeling in front of her saying something so low that I couldn't make it out, but I didn't need to hear to get what he was saying. Between the dazed yet somewhat fearful look on her face and the smug sneer the man was wearing on his, I could tell I wouldn't like it.

"Hey! Get the hell away from her!" I ordered in a stern and hopefully somewhat intimidating voice.

The man snapped his head up to me. He realized who I was and backed away quickly. I was glaring at him as I walked over to the girl.

I kneeled down in front of her and took a closer look at her. I could tell that they had drugged her. _Bastards_.Her eyes were distant and glazed over; she looked like her mind was somewhere else while her body remained here. It was scary.

I would worry about how to help her come off the drugs later; right now I needed to find a way to get $500,000 here in twenty minutes without having to leave. I refused to leave her here alone.

I thought for a few seconds when it popped into my head. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone and dialed a number I knew well.

_I need Emmett's help. _

Emmett was my older brother by two years. He's also the CEO with me at Cullen Corporation; a pharmaceutical company that our father and uncle had built up here in Brazil. Carlisle and Uncle Aro had passed it down to us two years ago, when I was only twenty-one and Emmett was twenty-three, so he could retire with our mother on the large island they owned off the coast of Brazil; Isle Esme - named after my mother. We all lived on the island, just different parts of it. Uncle Aro let it all go simply because he was tired of all the stress that came with the job and he wanted more time to spend with his wife.

Regardless of our ages, Carlisle believed in our capability to run the company together. Two years later we had nearly doubled its profits and it had become one of the biggest and well-known companies in South America. We were thinking of building a sister company in Europe.

It took Em a moment to answer the phone, knowing him he had probably been sleeping.

"What's up Eddie?" I hated when he called me that but I would let it pass for now. There are more important things to take care of.

"Listen Em, I need you to do something really important for me."

"Anything, what do you need bro?" He replied eagerly. I wondered if he'd say the same thing in a minute.

"I need you to pull $500,000 out of the safe at the office and bring it to me at the _Mirante do Vale_ building within twenty minutes." I explained.

"$500,000? Edward, are you in some kind of trouble?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"No Emmett, I'm not in trouble, just please do what I asked. I need the money soon and I

promise to explain when we're done here." I reasoned with him. I knew he wouldn't let this go without an explanation.

"Okay man, I'll be there as fast as I can." I could hear him scrambling around, probably getting dressed.

"Thank you Em." I breathed out in relief. I was just glad that we had been staying at a nearby hotel for an early business meeting tomorrow morning instead of being on the island, or it would take him at least two hours to get here.

I turned my attention back to the angel beside me. She was still under the effects of those damn drugs. Then I noticed another thing, she was still laying here in her underwear.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. She was probably freezing and she needed to be covered up,_ I thought. I unbuttoned my shirt and laid it across her small, curled up form. Thankful for my white undershirt I had on.

A woman with a mane of bright red hair strutted through the door and came over to me. I moved slightly in front of the girl so I was between her and the red head. She probably was just here to get the money from me.

"Mr. Cullen, my name is Victoria and I'm here to collect your payment. Are you paying in cash?" She purred to me, trying to sound seductive.

_God, I must be psychic; no wait, wrong family member, _I thought sarcastically.

"I'll be paying with cash. My business partner is on his way here with the money." I informed her.

Right on cue, Emmett called.

"Hey man, I'm outside the building, what floor are you on?"

"I'm on the fortieth floor." I told him.

"Are you sure you're not in any kind of trouble? You need to tell me now if I should be prepared to kick somebody's ass." He was in overprotective big brother mode, but it was unnecessary.

"Em, I'm positive, just bring up the money" I stressed.

"Ok, I'll be up in a minute." And with that he hung up.

"My partner is on his way up now." I said to the woman. She nodded her head and walked off to the other side of the room. I was amazed and disgusted that she could act like what they did here was nothing out of the ordinary. Almost like selling people as sex slaves on the black market was the most normal thing in the world.

Emmett walked in a few moments later being escorted but a guard.

"I thought you said you weren't in any trouble." He said as he looked the guard up and down.

"I'm not Em, do you have the money?" I held out my hand toward him. He walked over to me with a briefcase and handed it to me. I put it down on the table and opened it, inside was a large amount of bills. I called Victoria over so she could count it out herself.

"….$420,000.…$450,000.…$480,000.…$500,000." She counted out carefully. She nodded to herself and closed the briefcase.

"You may now leave with your purchase Mr. Cullen." She told me. I wished she would stop saying things like that. This girl was a person, not a piece of furniture.

I walked back over to the couch and picked up the poor girl in my arms. She let out a little whimper as I did and I leaned down slowly toward her and whispered in her ear.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. We'll be out of this place soon." I couldn't tell if my words helped much. She was so limp and lifeless in my arms, I was worried about exactly what kind of drugs they put in her and how much.

Emmett was looking between me and the girl strangely, but thankfully he had enough sense to not say anything in here.

We took the elevator down to the parking garage and I saw that Emmett had driven his Jeep here. Good_, _I had plenty of space to lay her out in the back seat.

Em opened the back door for me and I laid her down, then climbed in the back with her, placing her head on my lap. Emmett climbed in the drivers seat and sat there in silence for a minute, not moving to start the car.

"Edward, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on here?" He asked me after a minute.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, staring down at the girl that seemed to have either gone to sleep or just passed out.

"Ok, I'll start at the beginning. I caught word that that money stealing bastard James was staying in that building, so I came over here to see if I could catch him-"

"You went to find him without me? I would have loved to grind his face into the pavement. Man, you always try and take away all my fun!" He whined and pouted.

"Are you done whining so I can finish?" I knew he was older, but most of the time he really didn't act like it, but that was part of the reason why I loved Emmett so much.

"Oh, sorry, you can continue." He mumbled.

"I followed him up to the floor we just came from, but the place was packed and I lost track of him. I was looking around the room for him when I saw this girl up on the stage." I motioned down to her. "I don't know what it was Em, but I looked at her and I realized that they were going to sell her, _sell her_, man. One of those gross old guys was going to buy her and make her do god only knows what. I couldn't let that happen. The next thing I knew, my mouth opened up and I said I'd pay $500,000 for her. And here we are now." I finished.

"So… basically, you came here to rearrange James's face, and you come out with an unconscious girl that was being sold on the black market? Well, you can never say you've had a boring life." He was trying to lighten the situation because he could tell I needed it and that's what he did best.

"I think I should take her to the island. Everyone's there and Carlisle can examine her." Em nodded his head in agreement and started driving. Carlisle had been a doctor before he started Cullen Corp with our Uncle Aro. And even then he would take trips for a few months at a time to Africa when us kids had summer vacation and take the entire family so he could participate in Doctors Without Borders.

He always wanted his family close, but that was just how Carlisle was, family was very important to him.

I started to hum, hoping that it would calm the girl if she could hear me at all. Emmett drove for about an hour before we reached the harbor that housed the medium sized speed boat we used to get back and forth from the island to the mainland. I carefully carried the girl to it and sat down, cradling her in my lap as Emmett made sure the boat was ready.

Em started up the boat and we began the twenty minute ride to the island.

When we got there, I realized that we were closer to my house than Carlisle and Esme's house. So I had Em just call them to come over here than have to carry her all the way over there. I carried her into my bedroom and laid her down on the bed just before Emmett came in.

"Well, dad is on his way over and he wasn't too happy to be woken up." He grinned.

"You didn't tell him why he was coming over here at three o'clock in the morning?" I asked him. It would be just like Emmett to do something like that.

"I thought it would be more fun to _see _the look on his face when you told him" He laughed. I just rolled my eyes and turned back to the girl.

I really had to find out her name, I didn't really like just calling her _the girl_. I pulled a blanket over her as I waited for dad to arrive.

It was about ten minutes later when my dad walked through the door carrying his medical bag.

"Boys, this had better be good. I was having a very nice dream abou-" He stopped short when he saw what or who I had in my bed.

"Dad, can you please examine her? She's been drugged and who knows what else." I pleaded desperately.

"Of course I will but you have to tell me everything as I do it" He reasoned. I nodded my head and he set to work looking her over.

I explained to him about James, how I saw her and that I felt this urge to save her, that I bought her and had Emmett bring me the money and about the trip here and everything else in-between. By the time I had finished so had he.

"Well I think you did a good thing saving her, son." He patted me on the shoulder.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked nervously. _Should I have taken her to an actual hospital when we were still in the city?_

"Well, you were right about the drugs, they're very strong but not harmful to her. They should wear off with time and sleep. There's some bruising around the tops of her arms and her wrists and she doesn't seem to have a fever; nothing that can't heal quickly." He went down the list.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been worried that they did something much more harmful to her.

"Thanks dad." I muttered.

He smiled at me. "It's no problem Edward. She should be fine through the night, just let her sleep the drugs off. I'd have some Tylenol waiting in the morning though." He said as he was packing his things back up. I nodded and said goodnight to him and Emmett, and they both left to go get some more sleep.

I made sure that the girl was comfortable and grabbed a blanket and a pillow for myself and walked over to the black leather couch I had inside my bedroom and laid down to go to sleep.

Hopefully, I would get to learn more about this mystery girl that has captured my heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight. That little fact is always so depressing.**

* * *

**BPOV**

When the handsome man said his name was Edward Cullen, the announcer looked scared all of a sudden. I couldn't understand why, he didn't look too scary or intimidating. I concluded that if he got that kind of reaction out of a man selling me on the black market, he must be someone very important.

They were staring at each other for a few moments when the announcer finally turned back to the audience and asked if their were anymore bids for me. After no one said anything, the man said I was sold and I was dragged away by the two men standing on stage with me.

I was thrown down on the couch and all I could do was lay there, I was so weak. One of the men that had be with me on stage knelt down in front of me.

"Cullen's going to be lucky to have you. I wonder if he would let me have a little bit of fun with you after he breaks you in. I bet you could do wonders with that pretty little mouth of yours. I could probably teach you a few things that he can't even-" Thankfully he was cut off from his little speech, that honestly made me want to vomit, by the beautiful man that had just bought me.

"Hey! Get the hell away from her!" He almost growled out. It scared me.

_Why the hell had I gone with Jessica and Tyler?_

Now I had been sold off to a man that would be cruel and abuse me with most likely no hope of ever escaping.

The dirt bag next to me had backed off quickly and the next thing in my line of vision was the handsome man kneeling in front of me looking into my face. I wanted to flinch away from him, thinking he was going to say things like the other man, but I was still unable to move. I was surprised when all he did was examine my face. For a moment I thought I saw genuine concern, but I knew that couldn't be possible.

He turned away and a few seconds later, and was speaking on the phone to someone.

_Emmett. Whoever that was. _

I was in and out of it for the next few minutes.

Soon I got pulled out of my trance like state when I saw him unbuttoning his shirt. I started to panic; was he going to do things to me right now? I wanted to cry and beg him not to hurt me but I was surprised when all he did was lay his shirt over me.

_What? _

I was really confused now. I still didn't trust him though. He probably was going to wait until we were alone to hurt me.

A woman with flaming red hair walked in the room, but I didn't pay attention anymore. I wanted to shut everything out. It was my minds way of protecting itself. I just laid there and stared off into space_. Like I could really do anything else._

I was vaguely aware when a large muscled, and I do mean _large_, man came into the room and started talking with the handsome man. Whoever this scared me even more than I already was. He was big and intimidating and I was positive I couldn't stop him if he wanted to do something to me. Maybe this was why handsome guy had bought me.

The next thing I know, handsome man is picking me up and I whimpered a little out of fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. We'll be out of this place soon." He whispered in my ear. Was he really trying to comfort me? He started walking out the door and the larger man was following. After a few steps the exhaustion and fear won out and everything went black.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

My eyelids fluttered open slowly and I looked around still half asleep. Then I realized I was in a large bedroom, laying in a soft and very comfortable bed. I was confused, this wasn't my bedroom. I started to panic; where was I? How had I gotten here? I went to sit up and a pain shot through my head.

"Oh god, that hurts." I moaned as I flopped back down into the pillows.

After the throbbing in my head stopped, I did a quick once-over of myself and saw that I was in my underwear, but was covered up by a rather thick and fluffy comforter. I forced myself to move and I climbed out of the bed. I wobbled a bit as the room started to spin, so I sat back down quickly.

_No need to fall anymore than I already do. _

I rested my head in my hands and took deep breaths for a minute.

After I stopped feeling dizzy, I looked around the room trying to find something to put on because I couldn't exactly walk around in nothing but my underwear in a strange house. I was unsuccessful in my quest and thought I'd risk it to find out where I was.

I moved my way to the door and found it was unlocked and I opened it slowly, but I froze when I heard an unfamiliar voice in another room.

"What was I supposed to do Rose? I bought her off the black market for fuck sakes. Plus, she was nearly naked and drugged beyond belief. I wasn't going to just drop her off at some random hotel and leave her to fend for herself." I assumed that whoever was speaking was on the phone because I heard no response before he started speaking again.

"No Rose, I couldn't. I wanted Carlisle to have a look at her and I-" I made the mistake of opening the door a little more and it squeaked loudly on the hinges.

"Rose I have to go." The man suddenly cut off their conversation and I heard footsteps coming towards me. I panicked and ran around the room trying to find someplace to hide. I settled for diving back under the covers just as an incredibly handsome man walked into the room.

He began to walk towards me and I burrowed under the covers as far as I could get. He stopped mid-stride towards me.

He said something to me in another language, it sounded like Spanish or Portuguese.

Why the hell was this guy talking to me in Portuguese?

_Where was I? Who was he? Did I hear him say something about the black market when he was on the phone? What was that about? _

I had so many questions running around my head that had no answers, it was starting to feel like someone was beating it in with a hammer. I squeezed my eyes shut against the blinding pain in my head and hoped this was all just a dream and I would wake up in my bed in my dorm room.

But that wasn't the case when I opened my eyes back up. The strange/hot guy was still in the room looking at me oddly and the pain in my head was still unbearable.

He spoke to me again in whatever language it was and the confusion got the best of me and I shook my head violently at him, hoping he'd get the idea that I didn't understand him. His dark eyebrows scrunched together in confusion for a moment and then understanding seemed to dawn on his face.

"Oh, of course you must speak English, I'm sorry." He said to me in a honey coated voice. All I could do was stare at him, unsure if he was someone dangerous. "I brought some water and Tylenol for you to take for the headache I'm sure you have."

He started to walk towards me slowly and placed a glass full of water and two pills on the night stand to the right of the bed.

My confusion and curiosity got the better of me and, after deciding he wasn't too dangerous to me right now, wanted to ask him a question.

"Where am I?" I nearly whispered to him, my throat was so dry.

He seemed to be studying me for a moment before he answered slowly, "You're in my house on the island that my family owns."

_Island?_ I thought. If I was on this strange mans island, then I obviously wasn't in America anymore. Then I started to really panic, why was I here? _Had he kidnapped me? Was he some crazy sicko that wanted to hurt me? _

I started to backup in the bed until my back was pressed against the headboard.

"It's okay, I promise that I won't hurt you. Please don't be afraid of me" He pleaded with me softly.

I looked closely at him, and realized he didn't _look _like he wanted to hurt me. I was still wary of him though. I began to relax a little and the strange man smiled at me. That smile had my heart beating faster and I could feel my cheeks heating up with a blush.

_Great_, I thought, _now I look like a tomato_.

"Is there anything you want? Are you hungry? I'm not much of a cook, but I could figure something out."

I thought about that for a minute, I was hungry, but I still had more questions. Just then my stomach growled.

He laughed a little bit. "Okay, I'll go find something that I'm capable of making. By the way, my name is Edward."

"My name's Bella." I answered him quietly. Edward was a nice name, but I would think that name would go with someone a little older than Edward was, it was just so old fashioned.

"Beautiful." He whispered to himself so lightly, I don't think he meant for me to here it.

He was snapped out of whatever he was thinking by a crash from somewhere else in the house. I shrank back in the covers, fearing what or who was angry enough to make such a loud noise. I was surprised when a rather stunning blond woman walked into the bedroom. She was tall, probably about 5'9", with long wavy blond hair that came down to her waist, with ice blue eyes that were currently glaring at the only man in the room.

"And just what in the hell do you think you're doing Edward Anthony Cullen? Will you look at this girl, you're scaring her half to death." She looked towards me and spotted the glass of water on the bedside table.

"Water? The best you can do is water, and then you just stand there like the idiot that you are. Where's-"

"Rosalie! Will you please take a breath before you run out of air! I don't want Emmett coming over here to beat the shit out of me for allowing you to suffocate yourself. And she was perfectly fine and calm before you came in here and started slamming doors and shouting at people." He interrupted the stunning blond, who I now assumed was Rosalie.

She looked me over once with her icy blue eyes and turned to glare daggers at the man. "You need to do more than just give her some water, Edward." She sighed, her voice lowered now.

"I was about to fix her something to eat, but you stormed into my house, without knocking by the way, and started chewing me out." He shot back at her.

By now I was watching them go back and forth at each other like a tennis match. They were so into fighting that I think they forgot I was even in the room with them. I thought I should say something to them, but was afraid they would snap at me like they were with each other if I did.

"Um… p-please don't fight with each other because of me." I spoke quietly.

They both turned to me with surprised looks on their faces. At least they didn't _look _angry that I had spoken.

"Oh, we're not really fighting with each other sweetheart, this is just how Edward and I communicate." Rosalie explained. _They do this a lot? That must be some relationship._

"This is my sister-in-law Rosalie, Rose this is Bella." Edward introduced us.

"Is he being nice to you Bella?" Rosalie asked me.

"Yes, he's been very nice to me. Why?" I was curious as to why she thought Edward would mistreat me.

"Nothing, nothing at all. As long as he's being a _gentleman_." She turned her head sharply toward him when she said the word gentleman. I wondered why, but thought I'd hold that question until later.

"Bella, would it be alright if Rosalie stayed here while I go cook you something?" Edward asked me.

I looked at Rosalie and she smiled sweetly at me. She seemed nice when she wasn't yelling at Edward, and I really didn't want to be alone in a strange place.

"Yeah, I don't mind. I'd like some company." I replied timidly.

Rosalie's smile got bigger and she walked over and plopped down next to me on the other side of the bed.

Edward just shook his head and walked out of the room.

"Do you really feel alright Bella? I know you've been through a lot, you must be scared." she seemed genuinely concerned. I didn't get what she was talking about. What did she mean I've been through a lot?

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Don't you remember what happened to you?" She asked, studying me carefully.

"The last thing I remember, I was in my dorm room talking with my roommate about some trip we were going to take." I had to think back hard. Angela had been so exited about going on the college trip to where was it? It was…. France? No I think it started with a b... b... Brazil!

Wait, in Brazil you speak Portuguese. _Oh great thinking Bella, no wonder you go to Yale. _I ignored my sarcastic inner monologue and tried to put more pieces together.

Edward had first spoken to me in Portuguese. Did that mean I was somewhere near South America? What did all this mean? My head was starting to hurt again with all these jumbled thoughts running around in my head.

"Ummm… you might want to talk to Edward." Rosalie snapped me out of my inner ramblings.

"Talk to me about what?" Both Rosalie and I looked up and saw Edward standing in the doorway holding a plate of food.

Well, I guess it was now or never.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight. This makes me feel very repetitive and slightly depressed.**

* * *

**EPOV**

I was in the kitchen trying to make scrabbled eggs and bacon without burning them for Bella._ Bella. _What a lovely and amazing creature.

When she had first woken up, it pained me to see that she was so terrified. And it was made even worse to realize I was what she was scared of. But something was odd. All the questions that she asked me was about where she was and how she got here. Pretty reasonable questions, but she didn't mention anything about the night before.

Was she in shock? Did she afraid and not want to say anything about it at all?

I was pulled out of my musings when I looked towards the bacon and realized that it wasn't supposed to be that dark.

_Shit, shit, shit. Why the hell couldn't I cook like Em? _

Now, Emmett could cook like a pro. A couple of years ago on Thanksgiving, he told mom that she deserved a break and he would cook instead. She agreed, thinking he would give up after an hour and hand everything back over to her. He ended up making a fucking amazing six course meal - by himself. Ever since then, he and mom teamed up to make one rockin' Thanksgiving dinner.

_Maybe I should take him up on those lessons he offered. _

I carefully put the scrambled eggs on the plate next the bacon, satisfied that nothing was burned, and headed back to my bedroom. Back to Bella.

Before I could get to the door, I heard Bella and Rose talking.

"The last thing I remember, I was in my dorm room talking with my roommate about some trip we were going to take." Wait, what? She didn't remember anything about what had happened? I didn't know if that was good or bad. I was thankful that she didn't have those horrible memories. But then again, if she had memory loss, there could be something wrong with her that needed to be checked.

"Ummm… you might want to talk to Edward." Rose said. _Great, how the hell am I going to tell her this? _

I didn't want them to know I was standing out there listening, so I walked into the bedroom.

"Talk to me about what?" I asked them, already knowing.

"I think I should leave you two to talk." Rose said as she stood from the bed and grabbed her purse. "I'll tell Em she's ok, he was worried about her last night."

_God, Em was almost as bad as mom. _

"You be nice to her, Edward and break things to her gently or I swear to god I will rip your balls off." Rose mumbled to me as she walked past. I was sure Bella didn't hear her.

I gave Rose a nod and she left. I was surprised, Rose wasn't exactly friendly with people she didn't know too well. For her to threaten me like that must mean that she was rather taken with Bella. I wasn't going to blame her. I was pretty taken with Bella myself.

"I brought you your breakfast." I told her as I walked over to her slowly, still unsure how she would react to me.

"Thank you." She said quietly. She was staring down at her hands and if I looked at her cheeks, I could see she was blushing. I thought it was adorable.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make anything better, I've never been much of a cooker." I tried to apologize lamely as I handed her the plate.

"This is perfect, I wasn't expecting a five course meal or anything," She lightly joked. The thing was that if she had been in Emmetts' house, she _would have _got a five course meal.

"Do you feel ok? Do you feel sick or have a headache?" I was trying to assess her for anything that could be causing her memory loss.

"I don't feel sick. I did have a headache and I was dizzy when I first woke up, but that's gone now."

I breathed a small sigh of relief, Carlisle said a headache would be normal and so was the dizziness. But I was still worried about what could cause her to forget so much. Was it simply because she was still in shock?

I let her finish her breakfast in comfortable silence, while I thought about how to explain things to her. Should I just tell her? No, that would be bad. I could keep hinting at some things and maybe she could remember that way. No, that could raise other questions and would make it worse if it didn't make her remember.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by my cell phone ringing in my pocket.

"I'll be right back, I've got to take this." I told Bella. She nodded at me as I backed out the door.

I flipped open my phone to see the number. It was just who I wanted to talk to. While Bella was sleeping, I called my Private Investigator, J. Jenks, and gave him Bella's description and possible age, and told him to dig around the city for any information.

"Hello." I said into the phone.

"Mr. Cullen, I found nine girls in the area fitting the description that you gave me."

"Do you have a Bella in one of your files?" I asked him, wanting to cut to the chase.

"No Bella, but I do have an Isabella." Hmmm… Isabella. That's probably her.

"I think that's it. What did you find on her?"

"Well, she's originally from some small town in America called Forks, Washington where her father is the chief of police. She's eighteen years old, goes to college as a freshman at Yale University. She came to Brazil on a class trip with a few other students." He rattled off all the facts. I was impressed that she went to Yale, that was an incredible college.

"Was that all you found?" I asked.

"Well sir, there was one interesting little red flag that popped up." That caught my attention.

"What exactly is it Jenks?"

"Well, it's about her step-brother. His name is Riley Dwyer. He's 25, lives in upstate New York. And get this, I found that he has several gambling debts with the Brazilian Mob. He went missing about one week before Isabella went on her trip and hasn't turned up anywhere since."

This could mean a couple of things. He either ran away because of his debts and the timing was simply a coincidence, or the bastard had something to do with Bella being taken and sold. My instinct was going with the latter.

Slave and sex trade was common in the Brazilian Mob to help pay back debts. Someone digs himself a hole he can't get out of, they take a distant relative or friend of a friend and sell them off on the black market in South America to repay the money they owe.

I had to say though, I had never heard of anyone ballsy and heartless enough to sell their sister. Step or not. They must not be very close if he's willing to sell her off as a sex slave to save his ass.

I almost crushed my phone when I thought of some bastard selling that angel to save his own pathetic ass.

"Was that all you could find on him?"

"For right now yes. I'm searching for more information right now. I wanted to call you and tell you what I'd found so far, sir."

"Of course, thank you for the information Jenks. Keep digging and call me back as soon as you find anything." I told him.

"Yes sir, I'll call soon." He said before he hung up.

I closed my phone and started to try and think things though.

Ok, I had a girl in my bedroom that I just bought off the black market, who was most likely sold off in the first place because of some sleaze bag step-brother that couldn't keep his money in his wallet.

Then another thought popped into my head: If I told her everything, she would up and leave the first chance she got and go home. My beautiful angel would be lost to me forever. For some odd reason, I wanted time with her. I wanted to get to know her, for her to know me. But I couldn't just keep her here forever, that would be insane, and even I'm not that far gone.

Though the thought was appealing. Maybe I _could _make her stay somehow. I mean, after all, I did technically pay $500,000 for her.

I nearly smacked myself when the thought entered my head. So what if I did buy her? None of this is her fault and she shouldn't have to pay me back.

And then I formed a plan in my head. I would tell her everything, because I figured with what I was about to do, I at least owed her the truth. I would tell her the truth and then I would tell her that she was to stay with me, whether she liked it or not. I would keep her here with me on the island and be the selfish bastard that I am.

I sighed, I didn't want to do things this way, I knew she would think I was some horrible person and she was my prisoner. But this was the only thing I could think of to keep her with me.

I tried to reason with myself that I would take good care of her and not harm a hair on her head when she was with me. I would only keep her here with me for six months and after those six months, I would let her go if she wanted to. I just wanted a few months with my new found angel. And apparently I would do anything to get it.

I walked back into my bedroom so I could tell Bella everything. This wasn't going to go well.

**BPOV**

I was still wary of Edward, but Rose seemed nice and Edward _did _just make me a very good breakfast.

I was just finishing said breakfast when Edward walked back in from taking that call he got earlier.

God, he was beautiful. I resisted the urge to walk up to him and run my fingers through his messy hair. Everything about him just screamed _Fuck Me! _I bet he had the prettiest girlfriend in the world, maybe an actress or a supermodel.

"Are you finished with your food?" He asked in his velvet voice.

"Um, yeah. Thank you for that again." I blundered. _Shut up, shut up, shut up! You sound so stupid! _

He took the plate from me and put it on a small table on the other side of the room.

"Bella, I think we should talk about some things. About what you and Rose were talking about." He said, sitting down in a black leather chair a few feet away from the bed.

I shrunk back into the bed a little. I had been worrying about this subject. This would most likely tell me if Edward is someone I should be running from or not.

"Okay." I didn't know what else to say when it came to something like this.

He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. _I wanted to do that._ He seemed to be fighting with himself about something, but regained himself and finally looked at me.

"Bella, there really isn't an easy way to tell you this, but… when I… found you, you weren't exactly in the best place." He started off. Not in the best place? What did that mean?

I just looked at him with a curious expression on my face and waited for him to continue.

"You were… being sold, Bella. I know you probably don't remember this, but you were kidnapped and were being sold on the black market. I was at the club that was selling you and I just bought you. There was something about you that just screamed at me to buy you, to save you. So I did and I brought you here to the island." He rushed out.

I couldn't believe anything he said. I had been sold? No way that was possible. No, no , no, he was lying, he had to be. He was making up some crazy story to cover up what really happened. I told him so.

"No Bella, unfortunately, I'm telling you the truth. I know it sounds insane, but things like this happen all the time. I'm sorry." I still couldn't believe him. I had been sold?

But then I remembered what I had heard Edward say on the phone when I first woke up. _"What was I supposed to do Rose? I bought her off the black market for fuck sake. Plus, she was nearly naked and drugged beyond belief. I wasn't going to just drop her off at some random hotel and leave her to fend for herself." _

Oh my god… maybe he was telling the truth, but why couldn't I remember any of it? Why was the last thing I remembered was being in my dorm room with Angela? There were so many questions rolling around my head it started to hurt again.

"Why… why would someone do that?" I asked, close to tears.

"Well, there are a few reasons why that would happen, but I'm going to tell you yours." He sighed. "You have a step-brother right, Riley?"

I nodded my head. Riley and I had never really been close because of our age difference and locations. We'd really only seen each other on holidays and vacations since I was thirteen, but by that time he was already twenty and had a life of his own and there wasn't any room in it for his annoying step-sister.

"Yes, what about him? Is he in trouble too?" Did they take both of us and he was in trouble somewhere?

"No he's not in trouble, or at least the kind of trouble that you were in." He explained. I was relieved and worried at the same time.

"Bella, did you know about anything… illegal that Riley may have been doing?"

"No, I'm not really involved in his life. I don't know much about anything that he does." It was the truth, I never really paid too much attention to Riley and his life.

"Well apparently, he got into some trouble with the Brazilian Mob, he has a large amount of gambling debts with them. And I believe that he… had you taken and sold down here in Brazil to pay off all his debts." He told me in a careful voice.

I think my brain froze up at that. I couldn't think about anything else except that there was no way in hell this could be true. No, Riley and I had never been close, but he wouldn't _sell _me.

I was so confused, I didn't know what to believe. I apparently have memory loss, then I have Edward telling me all of these things and none of it seems possible. It was like something out of a movie.

"Well, lets say that everything that you're saying is true. It shouldn't matter right? I'll just go back home. In fact, can I use your phone to call my mom and tell her that I'm okay? She worries about everything, I'm sure that she's going crazy by now. Oh and my dad must be searching everywhere for me. Thank you for saving me and all, I'm sure that there's something my parents can do to repay you." I couldn't stop babbling. It was like my mouth wouldn't close, no matter how much I wanted it to.

Maybe my brain had broke and it was causing my mouth to malfunction.

I sat up straighter in bed and attempted to throw the covers back, but Edward stopped me.

"Bella, I'm afraid that I can't let you call anyone." He said quietly.

I froze from trying to get out of the bed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, that you're not going home. And you can't call your parents. You're staying here with me."

"What? I can't stay here with you! I have to go home to my parents - my friends that I came here with are going to be looking for me. You can't make me stay with you!" I was panicking.

There was no way he could make me stay here with him… Unless he was planning on holding me prisoner. Was he? I knew my first instinct with him was right, I should have been running.

"Actually, I _can _keep you here with me. I would like it if you would agree to stay here with me, but since I already know that you won't, I'm going to have to do this a different way. If you want to get technical, I bought you, so I now own you. I want you to stay here with me for six months. And after those six months you can go home if you want, but until then, you will be here on this island." He told me, like he was telling me that it was raining outside.

I couldn't believe it. He was actually keeping me captive here for _six whole months_. I resisted the urge to break down in tears in front of him. Someone could still find me. People will know I'm missing, if they don't already.

"This island is private so it isn't on any maps and it's not well known to anyone outside of my family and close friends, so we're well hidden here. The chance of someone finding you here is next to nothing." It was like he read my mind. I felt my hope being cut down by the second.

At that, I couldn't help but let a couple of tears slip. I was scared and confused and I didn't know what the hell he really wanted from me. He said I was being sold as a sex slave, is that why he bought me? To be his personal whore?

"Di-did you buy me because you w-wanted me to h-have sex with you?" I asked through the tears that were now flowing freely down my face.

He looked panicked for a minute then he got a strange look on his face. He looked almost pained.

"No! No, I don't want you to do that." He attempted to reassure me. It wasn't working to well. He kept talking.

"Just because I'm keeping you on the island, doesn't mean you're a prisoner. And I won't touch you like that, I promise. You can go anywhere on the island that you want, you can visit with my family and do whatever you want here. You just have to follow a few rules that's all. I swear that I will not touch you… sexually when you're here. I just want to spend time with you." He finished.

This was too much, I was crying and my head hurt and I couldn't think clearly.

"W-will you pl-please leave, I want to be alone." I whispered.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again. _Why did I still want to do that after everything that's happened? _

"Of course, you'll probably want to sleep some more too. I'll call my sister and Rose over so that they can get a few things that you'll need." He got up from the chair and headed towards the door.

He paused for a second and turned back around.

"I really am sorry to upset you so much, I wish it didn't have to be like this. I hope that you won't always feel this way about me." He said before walking out and closing the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door for a couple of seconds before I broke down sobbing. I just wanted to go home. I missed my mom and dad and all my friends. I was confused, I couldn't remember any of the things he said had happened. Was he even telling me the truth?

I buried my face in a pillow and cried for minutes or hours, I didn't know how long it had been. I wanted my mom to hold me and tell me one of her crazy made-up stories like she used to do when I was little and I would get upset to make me feel better.

But she never came. I sobbed into the pillow until I became too exhausted to even cry anymore and slipped into a fitful sleep. I hoped that everything would go away and I would wake up in my own bed.

* * *

**So what did you think? Leave a review and tell me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: *Says through sniffles and tears.* I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT.**

* * *

**EPOV**

I closed the door to my bedroom and slid down the door and buried my face in my hands.

That had not gone well.

I had anticipated that she wouldn't take it well, but seeing the look on her face was heartbreaking. I felt like a complete dick for making her cry.

I could hear her crying inside and I couldn't get up to get away from the sound. I think it was my subconscious's way of torturing me, or telling me that I was an ass. Either way, it did the job.

After a half hour, I could hear her quiet down and fall asleep. I breathed a sigh of relief that she was able to find a reprieve from my assholeness. Yes I think I just made up a word, I don't give a fuck.

I got off the floor and thought about taking a shower, but before I could, my phone rang once again. I sighed, I didn't want to deal with anyone's shit right now, so I let it ring to voicemail.

I walked into the guestroom, seeing as I didn't want to disturb Bella in my room. My phone rang again, whoever it was must want to talk to me badly, so I relented and flipped it open. The caller id said that it was Emmett. He was probably calling me to check on Bella.

"What's up Em?" Was my way of greeting.

"Hey how's that chick?" I resisted the urge to laugh at him. I'm sure that Rose had told him Bella's' name, so either he forgot, or he was just purposely being stupid. It was hard to tell with Em.

"That chick's name is Bella."

"I know, I just want to call her chick until I can get to know her so I can give her a nickname."

I rolled my eyes. Emmett had this thing were he liked to give people nicknames. I don't know why, he wasn't very good at coming up with original names. Mine was Eddie.

"Anyway, Bella is… complicated." I couldn't think of another appropriate word for the situation with Bella, and I didn't want to go into details with Emmett of all people.

"What do you mean complicated? What did you do Edward?" Damnit, why did it have to be now that Emmett chose to be perceptive.

"I may have fucked up a little bit. I did the only thing I could think of to… get her to stay here with me a little longer."

"Jesus fucking Christ man, what did you do?" His voice went from jovial to serious in under three seconds flat.

Oh shit, when Em was like this, someone was going to get hurt. The voice in the back of my head told me that I was that someone.

"First of all, I know what you're probably thinking and I didn't hurt her. I just told her that I wasn't going to allow her to leave the island." I cringed. Now that I said it out loud like that, I could see why she would think I was some cruel tyrant keeping her prisoner her. Fuck.

"You did what?" He boomed into my ear. I had to hold the phone away from me so I wouldn't bust an ear drum. "Edward, what the hell are you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I didn't want to let her go. So I did the only thing I could think of, I told her she had to stay here with me for six months." I explained.

"Oh man you seriously fucked up. Mom and Dad are going to kill you when they find out." He reverted back to teasing me.

"No shit, which is why mom and dad can't find out about this."

"Well it's going to be a little hard to hide a girl from them."

"I'm not going to try to hide her, I'm going to tell mom and dad that I'm letting her stay here for a few months because she has memory loss and doesn't have anywhere else to go." I didn't know how I was going to get Bella to agree to this little detail, but I had to try.

"Oh, fuck man, who's going to care about mom and dad when Rose finds out. She told me that she actually likes Bella. She's going to castrate you when she finds out that you're keeping Bella prisoner." Em said. I cringed just at the thought.

Rose was going to be a bit of a problem, she told me not an hour ago that she would rip my balls off if I wasn't nice to Bella, now I was forcing her to stay with me like something out of a bad romance novel.

"Em, don't worry about Rose, I'll deal with her. I do need you to ask her a favor for me though."

"What do you need man? Handcuffs? Because we got a couple of pairs of those, we could spare a set." He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't make fun of this. I need Rose to bring by some clothes for Bella. I'd ask Alice, but I think she's too short for anything of hers to fit."

"Ok man, but you get to take the beating and tell Rose." He snickered at me.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just tell her for me please. I'm gonna jump in the shower, that should give her enough time to find some clothes and get over here, bye." I hung up the phone before he could say anything else obnoxious.

Now I could take a shower in peace.

While I was in the shower, I thought of how I could possibly make this up to Bella. It wasn't going to be easy.

I resolved to myself to treat her like the angel she was. It was the only thing I could do, she probably thought I was some villain keeping her captive here, while twirling my mustache. I would do my best to prove her wrong.

By the time I had thought of a plan, the water was running cold.

I turned the water off and stepped out and wrapped a towel around my waist.

I opened the bathroom door and almost had an aneurism at what I saw.

Rosalie was sitting on the guest bed with one leg crossed over the other and her arms crossed across her chest, with a look on her face that said I was about to die.

I guess that Emmett already told her everything.

I cringed away from her and waited for the shit storm to come.

"Tell me Edward, what was it that I said to you before I walked out that door a couple hours ago?" She asked calmly, examining her nails. A little too calm if you ask me.

"Something along the lines of you castrating me if I wasn't nice to Bella?" It came out as more of a question and a little more squeaky than I would have liked. Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of much, but put me and a seriously pissed off Rose in a room together alone, and I was cringing in a corner, scared for my life.

"That's right, and did you listen to me? No. You told her that she couldn't leave here for six months!" Her voice got louder and louder until she was yelling at me at the end.

She jumped up off the bed and I took a couple of steps back and resisted the urge to cup myself. Shit, shit, shit.

Bye, bye nuts.

"See Rose, I can explain. She's special to me, and I thought that if I told her everything, she would just go home and I'd never see her again." I started.

Rose motioned for me to continue.

"I wanted to spend a little more time together and this is the only way I could think of to do that. I'm not going to hurt her or anything, Rose. I just wanted a little time, that's all. I know that I'm crazy, an idiot, a dumbass, a jackass, whatever want to call me, but I need these six months. Please understand that Rose." I plead with her.

Her face didn't soften, but a saw a shift in her eyes. I didn't know if that was good or bad. She started to pace around the room, looking deep in thought about something.

"Rose-"

She cut me off with a glare and I shut up. She kept pacing for about twenty minutes until she finally stopped and looked at me.

"Here's the deal Edward Cullen, I will let you keep Bella here for your six months, but, and that's a big fucking _but_, if you so much as make her cry, if you hurt her in any way, shape or form or you pull any other jackass move, I will beat you to a pulp and let Emmett have whatever is left. Am I clear?" She ranted at me, starting me down with her hands on her hips.

I gulped. "Yeah, I got it Rose."

"Oh, and me and Alice are her new best friends. There are some clothes on the bed." And with that she walked out, leaving me speechless.

Then I had a revelation, if I forced Bella to stay here, she would hate me, no matter how many months that she spent here. I knew what I had to do, I just hoped to god or whoever would listen, that my angel would have mercy on me.

**BPOV**

I opened my eyes then immediately shut them because an obnoxious ray of sunshine was coming in through the window and shining directly on my face.

"Stupid sun, just go away for another five hours." I grumbled. I'm not, and I repeat _not_ a morning person. The only reason I get up before noon was because I had classes.

Wait, classes. I shot up from the bed and started looking for my alarm clock to see what time it was, but it wasn't anywhere. Then everything came flooding back into my mind and I groaned and flopped back down on the comfy bed.

Stupid, annoying, possibly bad, incredibly sexy, you-have-to-stay-here-with-me, Edward.

"Urrrrggggh." I groaned into my pillow.

I laid in bed for a few minutes until I had the urge to go to the bathroom. That was a problem seeing as I had no idea where the bathroom was.

_Well he didn't say I was confined to this room,_ I thought.

So I got out of the ridiculously comfy bed and looked around for a door that possibly led to a bathroom. I opened the first door I came to, but it wasn't a bathroom. Unless he was hiding it somewhere in the back of this huge walk-in closet. His freaking closet was bigger than my dorm room. He was a guy, why did he have such a big closet? I shut the door quickly and moved to the next one.

Now _this_ was the bathroom, and if I thought the closet was big, oh my god the bathroom was a coliseum.

It was twice the size of the closet. The entire room was done in black and white marble. The floor, the sinks, the counters, the giant bath tub, and there were two pillar things that were marble as well. I was surprised that the toilet wasn't done in marble too, but it didn't look cheap either. I was almost afraid to walk in, but Jesus Christ I need to pee.

I tip-toed over to the toilet as fast as my clumsy ass dared and sat down. Oh god this thing had a seat warmer! I think that if I wasn't being forced to stay here, I would feel better about worshiping this bathroom.

I finished and tip toed back out. I was tired of just sitting around in my underwear, so I walked back over to the humongous closet and started to look for something I could pull on. Someone that looks as good as Edward must have a girlfriend, and that meant that said girlfriend should have left some clothes over here.

I'd been searching for less than a minute with no luck when I heard a cough. I turned so quick I nearly lost my balance and saw that Edward was standing in the doorway of the closet.

I thought it was odd he was looking anywhere but me, then realized I was still in my underwear and I started blushing like crazy.

"I came in here to give you some clothes that Rose dropped off for you. I put them on the bed." He said, still looking at the ground.

I almost said thank you, but I remembered everything he said to me earlier and decided that if he was making me stay here, I wouldn't make it easy on him.

I was going to give him the silent treatment.

I know the silent treatment was kinda childish, ok really childish, but I didn't care, anything to get on his nerves was fine with me.

"I'll leave you to, ummm, get dressed." He mumbled and turned on his heel.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. That had been slightly embarrassing.

Clothes! He said there were clothes on the bed.

I practically ran out of the closet and looked toward the bed. Sure enough, there was a small pile of clothes on the foot of the bed. I rushed over and picked a piece up, it was a frilly white sleeveless blouse thing, not my style, but it would do for now. I put it on and a pair of shorts and looked at myself in a mirror. Not too bad, at least I was in something other than my underwear.

There was a knock on the door and I was hesitant to answer it.

I resisted calling out to him.

"It's Edward, can I come in?" Came the velvety smooth voice again. Wait, _velvety smooth_? I smacked myself on the forehead. You're not supposed to say that the voice of the man that is keeping you captive is velvety smooth.

"Bella?" Oh, I guess it had been a minute.

I had to keep up with giving him the silent treatment, so I walked over to the door and swung it open.

Edward took a step back and looked at me apprehensively. What was his problem now?

"I'm glad that the clothes fit you. I would have had my sister Alice bring some over, but I think she's too short, so Rose brought you those."

I just stood there with my arms crossed.

"So, I was thinking that if you wanted to, we could go out to the kitchen and have breakfast and we can talk about a few other things." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

He almost looked ashamed about something. What was that about?

I sighed. If he wanted to talk about something I would have to drop the whole silent thing. I guess I could come up with something else to annoy him with. I remembered that before he told me I was basically a prisoner, he was nice to me. Maybe he would be nice to me again.

"Fine." I mumbled.

"Ok, come on, I cooked some waffles and bacon, or at least tried to."

I followed him down the hallway into an amazing kitchen. Was everything huge in this place? Like that bathroom, the kitchen was done in granite. All the appliances were stainless steal and there was a bar.

"You can sit at the bar, I'll fix you a plate." He walked over to the stove.

I was about to sit down at one of the stools, when Edward let out a curse.

"Fuck, I forgot to turn the oven off." He said, moving a bunch of pans around on the stove.

I sighed and when over to stand next to him. Everything looked burned. I guess the charred remains I was looking at used to be waffles and bacon. I think. I couldn't really tell.

I couldn't take it anymore, I burst out laughing, holding onto the edge of the counter for support.

"What?" I heard Edwards bewildered voice.

"It's just that… you really can't… cook. I thought… you were exaggerating." I huffed out through laughs.

I looked up at his face and for a second I thought he was going to yell at me, but was surprised when he started laughing as well.

"I'm not exaggerating, my mom and my brother Emmett are the cooks in the family." He said through chuckles.

After our laughing subsided, there was an awkward silence in the room.

"So…" Edward started. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about how I may have come across last night. I didn't mean to put it so you thought you were a prisoner here, I just… I wanted you to stay here with me so we could get to know each other. The reason why I bought you the other night, was because I was drawn to you in some odd way. I just wanted some time with you that's all. And I thought about everything that I said earlier, and it was mean of me to say that you couldn't speak to your parents, I'm sorry. I thought about some things and I wanted to tell you that if you want, you can go home. But also if you want, you can remain on the island with me and my family for a while. You can decide." He was breathing deeply after his speech. He looked green, almost like he was about to vomit.

I gulped. He was actually giving me the chance to leave? I was about to run for it, when I remembered last night when he was nice to me and brought me dinner, and introduced me to Rose. And then this morning, even when I was nearly naked in front of the man, he looked anywhere but me. He tried to make me breakfast and now he was apologizing for everything, while giving me the chance to stay or leave.

The real question was, did I really want to? Did I want to leave this beautiful, interesting, seemingly kind man, to go back to my boring life that consisted of nothing but school work?

Then I thought about the conditions he had set last night and before I could fully make my decision, I had to ask him a few questions about that.

"What about those conditions that you told me about last night? If I choose to stay of my own free will, will those still apply?"

"No! You can do whatever you want, you can go to the mainland whenever you want, I'm sure that my sister Alice and Rosalie will want to take you shopping, you can call anyone anytime, you can go anywhere on the island." He rushed out.

I considered this.

"I can leave anytime I want to?" I asked.

"Yes, if you want to leave, I will personally buy you a plane ticket."

I stood leaning against the counter for a couple of minutes. What the hell? I could call my parents and say the class trip took a little longer and I could call Jess and tell her I ran off with some hot Brazilian guy for the summer and to not wait for me. It wasn't too far from the truth. Jess would probably congratulate me.

I sighed and closed my eyes. My mom always told me to get caught up in some adventure, why not this one?

I opened my eyes back up and looked at Edward. He looked nervous as hell and I could see some sweat trickling down his temple.

I just hoped I wouldn't come to regret these two words.

"I'll stay."

* * *

**Whew! End of Chapter 5.**

**So? What do you think? Leave me a review and tell me. Reviews save you from getting bitched out by Rose.**


	6. Chapter 6

**EPOV**

What?

Did she just say she would stay?

I just stood there and stared at her like the dumbass I am. This… this angel just agreed to stay with me? Okay, this was a dream. I know it is. I was about to pinch myself.

"Edward? Did you hear me?" I hear my angels voice.

I blinked a couple of times and regained my focus.

"Umm… yeah, I heard you. Really? You really want to stay?"

She rolled her eyes a little. "I said yes didn't I?"

I laughed at her.

"I just find it a little hard to believe that you would agree to something like that." I explained.

"Well, I find it hard to believe myself, but something about you is telling me to stay. I've never been spontaneous before in my life, I want to try to do that now." She said, examining her fingers.

There was an awkward silence and I turned around back to the stove.

"Well, since I ruined breakfast, and I don't want to attempt to cook anything else, do you want to go over to my brothers house? Rose will be over there, and Emmett cooks great. Hell, he's probably cooking something now."

"We don't have to leave, I can cook something." Bella said and she started toward the stove.

"No, I don't want you to have to cook on your first day here. And besides I'm sure that Rose wants to see you after this morning." I knew I was going to have to tell Bella about my conversation with Rose, or Rose was going to tell her the exaggerated version and she was going to flip on me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, when Rose came over this morning to drop off some clothes, she kind of went off on me. So, she'll want to make sure I didn't kill you and stuff you in the basement or something." I joked with her.

She smiled slightly and agreed to go over to Em's for breakfast.

"We're going to have to walk, but their house is not far from here." I told her as we walked out the front door.

"That's fine, I like walking. Before all of this, I would jog for about half an hour every morning." I immediately felt guilt crash over me in tidal waves.

_Before all of this. _

Before she was taken and sold on the black market and I bought her, I thought with self loathing.

I sighed.

"What is it, Edward?" She asked sweetly. God, did she have to do that? Care about me?

"Nothing, I was just thinking." I tried to say softly despite my anger with myself, as not to scare her again. It wasn't a total lie after all.

We walked in comfortable silence for the next few minutes before we reached Em's house.

I knocked and a few seconds later, the door was swung open to reveal Emmett in a pink frilly apron that said 'kiss the cook'. I glanced toward Bella to see her reaction and saw she was trying to hold in her laughter. She had her hand over her mouth and her shoulders were shaking.

I couldn't help but laugh myself. Emmett saw this and crossed his arms and feigned a frown.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you laugh now, but when I make you the best waffles you've ever had, then you'll be stuffing your face, not laughing." He teased, stepping aside to let us inside.

I led Bella through the door and was met with the delicious aroma that could only be Emmett's cooking.

My stomach rumbled.

Bella was looking around the house shyly as we walked to the kitchen. I couldn't help but stare at the expressions that crossed her face. They were so adorable.

Ugh, what was this girl doing to me? I, Edward Anthony Cullen, a twenty-three year old that owned his own multi-million dollar business, was saying things like _adorable_. I'd never said that before when describing a girl. Jesus.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a blond blur running past me. Rosalie.

Rose squeezed Bella so tight and with so much enthusiasm, I thought that she had switched bodies with Alice. She must really love Bella. Shit. That meant I had to watch my every move.

"Bella, I'm so glad you could come over for breakfast." Rose enthused.

"Well, Edward suggested we come over because he burned breakfast." Bella said a little shyly.

"Ha!" Emmett boomed from his place in front of the stove. "You burned breakfast again? What is the total now? Every breakfast since the age of nine?" He teased me.

I huffed at him and crossed my arms.

"No, actually. Just yesterday, I made something to eat for Bella and it wasn't burned." I gloated a little. Pathetic right?

"Oh, shit! I haven't introduced myself properly." Em exclaimed, bounding over to Bella and Rose.

"My name is Emmett, Edwards older brother and personal chef." He stepped right up to Bella and enveloped her in one of his infamous bear hugs.

At first I was worried about Bella's reaction to Ems'… personality, thinking she would get scared, but I was floored when she giggled. _Giggled. _

A few hours ago I was a complete dick and made her cry herself to sleep and I know that she's still not comfortable with me. And my scary looking bear of a brother scoops her up she giggles at him.

I couldn't help the odd feeling of hurt creep into my chest.

Emmett put her down and she was beaming up at him. It felt like a knife being twisted in my chest.

Rose must have seen the look on my face, because she gave me a sympathetic look. Well, as sympathetic as Rose could be.

"Hi Emmett." She said brightly.

"Well, Belly B, since Eddie burned your food, what would you like me to make you?" And there's the nick name. Belly B. Hmm… a little more imaginative than I would have thought for Emmett.

"Well, you said something about waffles…" She trailed off shyly.

"Waffles it is Belly B!" He nearly shouted and turned back to the stove.

"Bella, you can come sit by me." Rose said, pulling her over towards the breakfast bar.

I followed them and sat on Bella's right, with Rose on her left.

"So Bella, did Edward talk to you yet?" Rose put it right out there. Subtlety was never Rose's strong suit.

"Yes, we talked and I agreed to stay here with him for a few months." Bella told her simply. I had a feeling that Bella wasn't one for gossip.

"Mmmm… are you comfortable with everything?" Rose pressed. I knew she was asking if I still wanted Bella to follow the rules that would make her almost a prisoner.

"Edward said I could have free reign of the island and go to the main land whenever I want and call my parents and friends anytime." She told Rose.

Rose stared at her for a moment and I guess she found whatever she was looking for, because she relaxed a little and launched into a conversation about needing to go to the mainland for a shopping trip.

After that I blocked it out, not interested in their girly shit.

I glanced over at Em and realized that he was looking at me with a warning in his eyes; You hurt her, you die.

I nodded slightly to let him know I understood and he turned away and flipped some bacon.

"Okay, ladies. Here is breakfast." He laid a plate down in front of each of us a that was loaded with tasty looking food.

"Don't call me a lady, Emmett." I grumbled.

He just snickered at me and grabbed his own plate and plopped his ass down next to Rose.

"So, what's happening with everyone?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of waffle.

"Alice and I were thinking about going on a shopping trip tomorrow. Bella's going to come with us too so she can get some stuff." Rose told him.

Almost on queue, the door was opened and Alice, with Japer probably not far behind, sang out.

"Heeeelllllllooooooo… are both my brothers here this morning?" Shit, I hadn't told Alice or Jasper about what had happened with Bella, and from the looks on Rose and Emmett's face, they hadn't either.

Bella looked frozen, probably not knowing what to do.

"Jas and I came by for breakfast and I wanted to…" Alice froze in the kitchen doorway, zeroing in on Bella. Jasper nearly ran right in to her.

Alice looked at Bella closely, almost as if sizing her up. Then she got the look on her face that I had hoped and prayed she wouldn't get with Bella. It was the _'just another whore sleeping with my brother for his money'_ look. The really bad part was when Alice got this look, she usually was very vocal about, and this seemed to be no different.

"Really Edward? Another whore here for breakfast? Though I guess I can't be too surprised that you let one of your one night stand whores on the island again." Alice harped.

Usually, I wouldn't mind this, because despite her tiny appearance, Alice is scary and very bitchy when she wants to be and it would get whatever girl out quick and she'd never come back. But this was Bella, my angel, not some random bar slut I brought back with me to hook up with.

I was about to tell Alice to shut up and apologize, when I heard a sniffle. I snapped my head toward Bella. She was cowering back in her chair, almost as if she was trying to make herself smaller, and I could see the tears in her eyes that she was trying to hold in. The look on her face was similar to what an eight year old looked like when you took away their ice cream cone.

Before I could snap at Alice, Rose was out of her seat and charging toward Alice, grabbing her roughly by the arm and literally dragging her into the living room.

Rose's screaming could be heard, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I think I caught… bitch… burn… Jimmy Choos… sold… scared… idiot…

It sounded like Rose was telling Alice a little bit of what happened to Bella.

Other than that, it just sounded like a banshee screaming.

Poor Jasper was frozen in the doorway, scared to move. He wasn't stupid, if Rose of all people was acting like that towards Alice over Bella, he wasn't going to make any sudden movements around Em and I, afraid of how we would react with her as well.

I turned to Bella, she was hiding her face by a curtain of her chocolate colored hair and squeezing her hands together.

I reached out slowly and placed my hand over hers. She jumped a little, her eyes flying up to my face. I could still see the tears in them.

"Bella, please don't listen to Alice, she doesn't know anything about the situation and she misunderstood. She isn't normally like this, trust me." I pleaded, trying to convey that she wasn't any of those things Alice said.

"Maybe I should leave." She whispered.

No! I was going to kill Alice if Rose didn't beat me to it.

"No Bella, you don't have to leave. Don't let Alice get to you, she's normally very nice and she didn't mean any of it."

"No Edward, it's not what Alice said, I rem-"

Before she could finish her reply, Rose strode back into the room, with a very upset and guilty looking Alice a few feet behind her.

Rose sat back down next to Bella and put an arm around her shoulder whispering something in her ear I couldn't hear.

Alice was standing a few feet away with a sad puppy dog look.

"Bella, I'm so, so, so, so, sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, I didn't mean anything by it at all. See, it's just I have such a big mouth sometimes and I'm very protective of Edward because he can be really stupid sometimes and… and… Will you please accept my apology? I totally understand if you don't though. I really want to be friends." Alice looked and sounded like she was about to burst into tears any second.

I expected Bella to tell her to go fuck herself or something, but almost fell off my chair when she walked over and hugged my tiny, sad sister.

"I forgive you, I can understand how you would think what you said." She told Alice.

"Why would you think that?" Alice asked her, stunned.

"Well, I am some strange girl you've never met before, sitting with your family eating breakfast. And according to what you said, Edward parades a lot of girls through here." She said. I thought she said the last part a little bitterly, but summed it up to me imaging it. She wouldn't be upset about that, would she?

"Bella, you may be a girl I've never met before, but that doesn't give me a reason to call you a whore." Alice said, sounding mad.

Bella must have some super power to make everyone in my family protective of her. It's the only way I could explain it.

"It's not just that. From Rose's yelling I can assume that she told you what's happened to me for me to be here."

Alice nodded and looked even more upset if possible.

"You're right to call me a whore because that's what I feel like. That's what Edward bought me for in the first place." Everyone in the room gasped.

I was unable to breath, knowing that she thought of me in that way.

But wait, if she was telling Alice that I had bought her, she would have to believe it, wouldn't she? Then I remembered what she tried to say before Rose and Alice came back.

"_No Edward, it's not what Alice said, I rem-" _Was she trying to tell me that she remembered what happened? How I had bought her without any feelings like a piece of furniture? No wonder she told me she thought she should leave and that she felt like a whore.

Rose looked furious, giving me the evil eye, like she would lunge for me any second.

Emmett looked heartbroken, obviously not liking that Bella thought of herself that way.

Alice looked beside herself with guilt and confusion.

Jasper didn't know what the hell was going on, but he still looked a little upset by what Bella had said.

I decided to talk first. "Bella, that's not why I bought you from those bastards. I already told you that I did it to get you away from them."

She looked up at me.

"Edward, I understand that to a certain degree, but when I'm being sold on the black market, and you come along and buy me for reasons that I didn't know, it tends to make one feel like a whore." She said through tears.

I had had enough of Bella calling herself such a horrible name.

I walked over to her and pulled her to my chest and she froze.

"Bella, listen to me. You are not a whore. You will never be a whore. I didn't buy you for that purpose and I don't want you to ever think that I want you to be like that for me. I bought you because I couldn't stand the thought of someone so beautiful and good and innocent to be resigned to that hell. I want you here with me and my family. I want to get to know you, for us to be friends. Please believe me, Bella." I begged her.

Throughout my speech, she stood frozen against my chest, not moving a muscle.

She slowly looked up at me and I could see the tears rolling full force down her face. Shit. She still hated me and was now going to catch the first plane ride out.

Then she smiled and shocked the hell out of me, for what seemed to be the hundredth time today, and encircled my waist with her tiny arms and squeezed, burying her face into my chest. It felt right.

"I believe you, Edward. I remember that even when I was in that back room after you bought me, you yelled at that scary man to get away from me. Then you covered me up with your shirt and told me that you wouldn't hurt me and I would be okay, that you wouldn't let anyone hurt me. I know that I'll be okay now. I know that you would never hurt me or use me on purpose." She sniffled through her tears.

I held her to me in silence for a few minutes, rubbing my hand up and down her back, trying to calm her, shutting out the rest of my family around us. It was an amazing feeling to know that she believed me, trusted me one hundred percent.

"Finally, the idiot did something right." Rose grumbled.

Bella giggled, which caused the tension to break and everyone else to laugh a little to.

Alice pranced over to us and grabbed Bellas' hand and dragged her away from me, to the breakfast bar. I felt empty until I heard what Alice said to her.

"Come on, I want to sit and have breakfast with you. I want to know everything about my new little sister."


	7. Chapter 7

**BPOV**

I was sitting at the breakfast bar squeezed in between Rose and Alice, the two of them talking animatedly about a shopping trip.

As much as I liked Rose and Alice was growing on me fast, I_ hated_ shopping.

I've never liked shopping, my mom use to take me all the time, hoping it was nothing but a silly faze, but it only made me more irritated. She eventually gave up, letting me shop online for anything I needed instead.

I started thinking back to what Edward and I just said to each other. I did finally remember everything. I shuddered when I thought about it, I never wanted to talk about any of those horrible things again. I felt like I needed a shower just remembering it.

I also remembered how Edward had protected me from that man that was saying all those nasty things to me. He had covered me up and carried me out with Emmett and told me I was safe and calmed me down.

I told him I trusted him, because I did in a way, I knew Edward would never hurt me or let anyone else hurt me.

"Bella how does that sound?" Rose's voice shattered my thoughts. I shook my head a little and shot an apologetic glance at Rose, not having heard what she said.

"I asked if this weekend was okay for us to go shopping together." She repeated, lacing her answer with a teasing tone.

"Oh, um… yeah, that's fine." I told her, picking at my breakfast.

"Wow Belly B, contain your excitement, we don't want you pulling something." Emmett laughed between inhaling his, what I believed to be his sixth waffle.

"I'm sorry Rose, it's just I don't really like shopping." I explained. I heard a gasp and whipped my head the other direction to see Alice, wide eyed, with a hand clasped over her mouth.

"Uh oh, you've hit a nerve now…" Emmett snickered.

"Alice what-" I started to ask, but Alice cut me off.

"You don't… like shopping?" She asked, sounding on the verge of tears. You'd think that I had just kicked her kitten.

"No… I've never liked it, shopping's never been my thing." I said, not knowing what the hell the problem was.

Alice let out a terrified squeak and started to breathe in and out deeply.

I looked around, desperate for an answer to what I had said wrong.

"Alice is sort of a shopaholic. She's been one since she was old enough to walk." I was shocked to hear that it was the velvety voice that belonged only to Edward.

I was surprised that he had said something; he had been sitting in silence since we all sat down to eat. Not that I expected him to start talking away or anything, especially after the almost heart-to-heart we had in front of basically his entire family, but still, a few words would have been nice. Then I realized that I had yet to say anything in response to his words, only staring at him in near shock.

"I am not a shopaholic Edward Cullen; I simply find it an excellent way of relieving stress. Some people go to therapy; I pick out what shoes go best with whatever outfit I just bought." Alice told him haughtily.

Edward grunted and rolled his eyes, but turned his attention back to picking at his food.

I heard Jasper snort next to Emmett. Jasper was another person who hadn't said anything. He just sat quietly eating his food, smiling gently whenever I happened to look his way. Alice had told me that he was her husband, but other than that, I didn't know much about him, although he seemed like a nice guy.

"You're going shopping with us this weekend, even if you… don't like shopping," Alice whispered the last part like it was some dirty word, "because trust me, you spend almost a full week with grumpy over here, and you'll need to get away." She giggled.

"Just because I'm not an annoying shopaholic pixie, doesn't mean that I'm grumpy." Edward muttered sarcastically.

"Okay you two, don't start." Rose jumped in.

Amazingly, both Edward and Alice stopped scowling at each other and continued eating.

After that, we all ate in silence, the only thing that could be heard were our forks scraping across our plates.

After we all finished, Emmett put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and Edward asked me if I wanted to leave yet.

"Um yeah, I'm just gonna say goodbye to Rose and Alice really quick?" It came out as more of a question, since I didn't really know if he needed to leave immediately or not.

Edward just nodded and turned to walk over to Emmett.

"Edward and I are going to leave. I hope I'll see you guys soon." I said to Rose and Alice.

Rose came over and hugged me.

"If he starts getting on your nerves or pulls a jackass move, you tell me and I'll kick his ass." Rose whispered in my ear. I smiled a little bit because I already knew that if someone was capable of kicking Edwards' ass, Rose is the girl.

Alice wrapped her tiny arms around me with surprising force.

"I'm really sorry for what I said when I first came in Bella. I didn't mean any of it, I hope I can make it up to you." Alice said.

"It's ok Alice, I get that you were just watching out for your brother. I've already forgiven you." I smiled at her, hoping that she would get that I really meant it.

"I'm still going to do something for you." Alice persisted. I could tell from the start she was a stubborn one.

I just sighed and waved bye.

When I turned around, Edward was standing in the kitchen doorway next to Emmett and Jasper.

I walked over to them and I was swallowed up in Emmett's large, muscled arms.

"You have fun Belly B, but not too much fun. If Eddie gets a little frisky, just smack him upside his head." Emmett chuckled. He put me down and I could see that Edward was blushing almost as red as I got sometimes.

"Emmett, I'm not going to get _frisky_." He hissed, embarrassed.

I could tell I was blushing myself, but choose to ignore it and I turned to Jasper instead and smiled shyly.

"It was nice to meet you Bella; hopefully we can get to know each other better later on." He smiled and pulled me in for a hug.

_This family was big on hugs_, I thought.

"Bye, everybody we're leaving!" Edward said and followed him out the front door.

The walk back to Edwards's house was awkward. I thought that after we got everything off my chest, it would clear things up a little bit for us to relax around each other. But, I guess I was wrong, because it was still awkward.

I looked over at Edward and he had the cutest look on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his lips were drawn together in a pout that made me want to lean over and kiss him.

_Whoa_. I want to _kiss _him? What the hell? I figured that we would be friends, well friends/roommates since I would be staying in his house, and in six months, I'd go back home and maybe we would continue to be long distance friends or something. Now I was thinking about kissing him?

That was defiantly not in the plans.

I chanced another look toward him and he still had the same look on his face. It was like he was thinking very seriously about something.

I wanted to say something, but was afraid if I did, I would disturb whatever he was thinking about. So instead I glanced around the island.

It was really beautiful now that I could appreciate it. I could see the bright blue ocean on the left that seemed to go on forever. The tide was gently crashing against the beach, seeming to pulse.

I was staring off into space when he finally spoke.

"You can call your parents or whoever you need when we get back." He blurted out from nowhere.

"Oh, okay. I'll have to call my parents and my friend Jessica. I'll just make up some lies, although, that may be kind of hard for me considering I've been told that I'm a horrible liar. I just hope that my parents believe me. I should probably talk to my mom; she never knows when I'm lying. Oh god, I almost forgot about Jessica. She's going to want details no matter what I tell her! What am I going to say to her?" I just kept rambling on and on, hoping inside my head that I would somehow choke on my own tongue, because I was rambling about nonsense in front of this amazingly hot guy, embarrassing the hell out of myself.

I was about to turn to him and apologize, tomato cheeks and all, when I heard one of the most beautiful sounds in the world; Edwards laugh.

I turned to him slowly, not knowing really what he was laughing about (my luck it was me) and saw he was looking at me laughing his ass off.

At first I was embarrassed, he was laughing at me. Edward was making fun of me.

Then I was angry. Just who did he think he was to laugh at me like that?

I put my hands on my hips and stomped my right foot into the sand, but that only made him laugh more for some reason, his face turning a bright red.

What the hell was his problem? Was I _that _non-threatening? He kept laughing for a good five minutes, bent over and clutching his sides with me standing with my hands still on my hips, just staring at him. Then it started to happen, the one thing I hated that I did when I was angry or frustrated; I started to cry.

I could feel the traitor tears welling up in my eyes as I kept watching him, but I tried in vain to blink them away. No matter what I did, they never went away.

I always cried when I was mad about something. A trait I got from my mother. I hated crying, it made me feel weak and stupid.

I felt the tears escaping and rolling down my cheeks, I reached up quickly and swiped at them, not wanting Edward to see my weakness, but I was too late. The action caught Edwards attention and his laughter died down to nothing and looked up at me.

"Why are you crying Bella?" He asked me, completely serious now.

I sniffled and turned my face from him, mortified that he had seen me crying.

"Hey, look at me Bella." He said and cupped his warm hand under my chin, turning my face back towards him. "What's wrong, angel?"

I didn't want to speak right now, knowing that my voice would only crack and give him even more to laugh at. Instead I concentrated on what he had just called me; _angel_. Edward just called me angel, why did he do that? And why did it give me butterflies in my stomach?

"Bella, please tell me what's wrong so I can fix it." Edward almost pleaded.

I sighed and glared at him. I was still angry at him for laughing, I hated to be laughed at and made fun of, and him calling me angel in that velvety voice of his wasn't going to make me forget, although, it was doing a pretty good job at trying.

"You were laughing at me." I mumbled to him, still afraid that my voice would crack.

Edward looked confused for a second and then understanding dawned on his face.

"Bella, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at what you were saying." He tried to explain. I still wasn't happy at what he said and it must have been obvious on my face, because Edward started scrambling.

"Not at what you had been saying - just how you were saying it. I mean you've barely said anything to me the entire time you've been here and then you go on about all that and just keep talking - not in a bad way, it just surprised me that's all. Then you stomped your foot and it reminded me of what all those spoiled girls in movies do and it just didn't seem like you at all. It was funny, but trust me, I wasn't laughing at you." Edward explained hurriedly.

I thought about it for a moment and examined his face. He looked so sincere and I wanted to believe him. When I thought about it, it would be funny to see someone yammer on like I was, and it was weird of me to just stomp my foot.

I saw the worry etched into Edwards face and I sighed, deciding to let him off the hook, so to speak.

"It's okay I guess, I just don't like being laughed at and that's what I thought you were doing." I said.

"I'm sorry Bella; I didn't mean to upset you. Come on, we're almost at my house." He said and turned and started walking toward his house, turning his head back to make sure I was following him.

Once we reached the house, mansion, whatever you wanted to call it, 'cause it was over twice the size of my parents' house back in Forks, Edward picked up something off the coffee table and handed it to me. I realized that it was a phone.

_Great, _I thought, _who to call first, my nosey mother or my nosey friend? _

I picked the lesser of two evils and called Jessica first, knowing it would easier be to tell her a lie than my mom.

I started to dial the number (thank god I remembered it) when Edward spoke up.

"Uh, I'll just go change my clothes and give you some space." He said awkwardly and backed out of the room. He was probably worried that I would tell Jessica that he kidnapped me and was doing horrible things to me.

Why wouldn't I do that? Oh yeah, cause I'm trying to live a little, but I'm not sure this is the best way to go about that. I mean, I could go skydiving, but then Edwards's sexiness came into my mind. His wild bed head and piercing green eyes aren't something that I could find while skydiving.

Suddenly, Jessica's nasally voice came through the phone and was snapped out of my thoughts.

"Hello?" She answered, sounding worried. Well, she was either worried about me, or she had a zit.

"Hey Jess, it's me Bella." I said to her.

"Oh my god Bella, where are you? Are you alright?" She asked frantically. Seems her face was zit free after all.

"Jess, I'm fine. I… um… I met someone." I told her. I was a horrible liar; this was exactly why I didn't call my mom first.

"You met someone… as in a sexy someone?" Jessica was no longer worried, now she was digging for gossip, true to form.

"Yes…." I answered her hesitantly. Edward was hot, I just didn't want to admit out loud yet.

"Ohhh Bella!" She squealed in my ear. "How hot are we talking here? George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, that guy from those vampire movies? Rob something… anyway how hot?" I could almost hear her jumping up and down with excitement for the juicy new information.

"Mmm… well, he kind of reminds me of that Rob guy, but he's got the whole, dirty, carefree Johnny Depp thing going on." I said, I was telling the truth, I'd never seen him in anything but jeans and a t-shirt and he was had crazy, bed hair like Johnny Depp.

Jessica ohhhed and awed the whole time

"Listen Jess, I've decided to stay with him for a while." I said and I heard her gasp.

"Bella, I'm all for sexing it up with a hot guy, but what about the trip, and we have to go back to school soon." She said. This was what I wasn't looking forward to.

"I know Jess, but I just have to do this. There's… something between us that I just can't explain, I've never felt anything like it before." I laid on the cheesiness, knowing that Jessica would eat it up.

"Awww… it's like a whirl wind romance, I get it now." She sighed into the phone, probably caught up in her own fantasies.

"Yeah, that's it, look Jess don't worry, I called the administrators at school and told them I wanted to go home for personal reasons, so they think I'm back in America, can you not tell anyone what I'm doing?" I lied through my teeth.

Note to self; call Yale.

I also knew that it was almost impossible for Jessica to keep a secret like this one.

"I don't know Bella." She whined.

"Please Jess? No one can know that I am where I am. I'll get in some serious trouble." I fake begged. Honestly I didn't really care if anyone found out, that would probably be a good thing, but I had to have Jessica believe that I wanted to be on some spontaneous romantic getaway with a hot guy.

"Fine I won't say anything, but only until I get back to school." Jessica huffed.

"That's fine; I should be back by then." I told her yet another lie. "Thank you so much Jess, now if you don't mind, I have a certain someone to get back to." I said so sweetly I thought I was gonna have to take a trip to the dentist.

"Okay Bella, have fun!" She squealed and hung up.

I had one down, one more to go.

I prepared myself for my next phone call; this one would involve a little more work and a lot more lying.

I dialed my mother's phone number and held my breath.

"Hello?" My mom's voice answered.

"Hey mom, it's me." I said brightly.

"Oh, hi sweetie, how's the trip going?" She asked me in the way only mothers could.

"It's great; it's actually so great, that I'm staying a little longer." I tried my best to sound excited.

"You're staying longer? Why? How much longer Bella?" She asked.

This was the hard part.

"Well, it's going to be around six month's total. I was given an offer by the College Board to extend my stay. There's only two other students that got the offer too." I had to admit, that was pretty good for coming up with it on the spot.

"Six months? Oh Bella, that's so long. Do you have to do it?" Renee complained.

"I don't have to do it, but I really want to. It would really expand my education and they say it won't cost any extra." The lies just kept spilling out of my mouth. Was staying here with Edward really worth lying to Renee like this? She made up my mind for me.

"Well, if you really want to and it won't cost any extra, then I guess that's okay, I'll just have to tell your father." She said distractedly.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, she may be an airhead sometimes, but she never ignored me when I talked to her about important stuff like this.

"I'm sorry Bella, it's just, they haven't found anything about Riley and I'm starting to get really worried. He never goes off like this without at least calling me or Phil to say he's okay. The police are on it, but it's just not going anywhere." Renee said, it was clear in her voice that she was stressed.

I didn't exactly share her views.

What was I supposed to say? Well mom, I'm not too worried about that asshole at the moment considering he possibly just had me sold on the black market as a sex slave and this incredibly handsome, beautiful, rich man bought me and now I'm staying with him on a private island for six months out of my own morbid curiously to explore life.

Yeah, she would take that well.

"Mom, I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere alive and well and say he just went on another one of his trips." I attempted to soothe her. I didn't want my mom to suffer because Riley fucked up both his and my life.

"I hope you're right honey. I have to go, Phil just got home and he's been really down, but call me as soon as you can, okay? Have fun sweetie!" She said cheerily and hung up.

I put the phone back down on the table.

That was easier than I thought it would be, but then again, she was probably just distracted with Riley.

I turned around and began searching for Edward. He said he was only going to change his clothes and I had been on the phone for a long time, surely it wouldn't take him so long to change.

I started walking past the large kitchen; I was halfway up the stairs when I heard Edwards voice carry down the hallway.

"Are you sure Jenks? No, no…. you've done all you can already. If you haven't found it yet you probably won't ever, that kind of info is out of even my grasp unless I want to get my hands into things I can't pull them out of."

Who was he talking to and about what? Was he talking about something illegal? I listened harder.

"Yes, I just got the fax you sent over. I'll call if I need anything else." Edward must have hung up because nothing else was said and I heard him moving around.

I waited a few seconds before I continued up the stairs, not wanting him to think I was eavesdropping.

"Edward?" I called out just loud enough for him to hear me, when I got to the landing

His bronze head popped out from two doors down. He looked distracted and a little angry. Had I interrupted him doing something important?

"I'm sorry, I'll go back downstairs, I just wanted to say that called my mom and Jessica, they don't think anything's wrong." I said quickly, turning back around to go downstairs.

"No! Bella, you don't have to go, I just have something serious I need to talk to you about." That caught my attention. Was that phone call about me?

"What is it?" I asked.

"Come downstairs with me." He said and waited for me to go first.

I was worried, was it something bad?

When we walked back into the living room, he sat down on a chair and I sat on the couch. It was tense, I was still dealing with the fact that I was sitting across form the man that just bought me and I actually wanted to be here. Edward looked like he was trying to figure out something in his head.

"Bella, it's about your step-brother. I had a private investigator look into Riley's life and he found some things." He hesitated.

"What did he find out?" I was curious.

"Well, he was able to find out that it was indeed Riley that allowed you to be sold. My investigator recovered some video footage from the building that you were being…sold at, Riley was there talking to a man associated with the black market." He said softly.

I gasped, I knew there was a chance that Riley had do this to me, but to have in confirmed out loud stung me. My step-brother had just handed me over to god knows whoever. What would have happened if Edward hadn't been the one to buy me? What if one of those balding old business men had bought me? I shuddered just thinking about it; after all, I was being sold as a sex slave.

"There's something else." Edward stated.

There was more? What else could there be?

"Apparently, Riley is still being held for the remainder of his debt."

He said hesitantly, like he didn't want to tell me.

"What? But wasn't the whole point of selling me off was to pay his debt?" I asked. How much money did he owe?

"It was, but it only covered a better part of it, not all of it. Now they're holding him there so he can pay back the rest of the money he owes." Edward stood up and started pacing around the living room.

"How will he pay it back?" I asked, I wondered what he could do to pay off that kind of money.

"There are lots of ways to pay back the mob. The most common way is getting money from selling your organs." Edward replied casually.

What? Selling organs? My mouth kept moving up and down, I didn't know what to say to that.

"Fuck, Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. It's just that the Brazilian Mob isn't nice, at all. Usually, they… kill the person that owes them something and sell their organs on the black market. Organs are in very high demand and can usually get quite a bit of money." He explained quickly when he saw the stunned look on my face.

"They can't do that to him! Edward, I know he's not the greatest person in the world, but I can't let them do that to Riley, he's my step-brother, no matter what he's done. Can't we do something? I can't just leave him there!" I exclaimed.

"Bella, how could you want to save his ass after everything he did to you? I know you're thinking, 'Oh well it isn't that bad!' but do you have even the slightest idea as to what would have happened to you if I hadn't been the one to buy you? 'Cause I do! You would have been bought by some old business man that would have abused you and raped you every day until he decided to get rid of you! Now you want to save the bastard that threw you to the wolves!" Edward yelled. By the time he was finished, he was out of breath and I was close to tears.

I knew Edward was right in a way, but no matter what Riley did, he doesn't deserve to die like that. My mom loved Riley like the son she never had but always wanted. I didn't want my mom and Phil to go through all that pain.

I felt a wave of anger come over me and I stood up quickly.

"You know what, Edward? I'm well aware of what could have happened to me. I keep thinking about it over and over again. I don't need you to remind me and then shove it in my face that I should be grateful to you for _saving me_. Well, I didn't ask you to save me, Edward! You could have kept up minding your own business and I would have never known the difference!" I yelled at him. The whole time, he was staring at me stone faced.

"Actually, I think I've changed my mind. I don't want to stay here anymore, you're mean and keep yelling at me and keep bringing up that I'm so lucky for you to _buy _me. You said I don't have to stay here, that you'd take me to an airport if I want to leave, well I want to leave." I cried at him.

I couldn't control the words that flew out of my mouth. I was acting so fucking weird, bursting out into tears all the time. Hell, I think I've cried more here than I have for my entire life. I hardly cry at anything, but something about Edward yelling at me like that just set something off in me.

I wasn't afraid of him; something told me that Edward would never physically harm me. I just hated the he was yelling at me it made me feel like I was a child and he was reprimanding me. That he was looking down on me and he was disappointed. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I cared about that, but I did.

Edward was still staring at me like he was in pain or something. I couldn't take looking at him anymore, his face would only make me want to stay more than I already did and that wasn't good. I was foolish to think I could stay here in the first place.

"I want Rose or Emmett to take me to the airport as soon as they can, please." I sniffle through my tears and I took off for the bedroom that I woke up in this morning. I slammed the door shut behind me and slid down the wall beside it onto the hardwood floor.

I was on the floor for about a minute when the door was pushed open to reveal Edward; he looked on the verge of tears himself.

He slid down slowly to the floor next to me, pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his elbows on them. He ran his fingers through his hair again and breathed out a shaky breath.

"Bella… please don't leave yet, I need you." He whispered.

* * *

**Ok, don't hate me for the sort of cliffy here.**

**I know a little sad there at the end, but Bella's got to have her doubts right?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. This is something that I often cry myself to sleep over.**

* * *

**RileyPOV**

Wasn't that little brat good for anything?

I went through all of that trouble to get rid of her and she still doesn't fulfill her purpose. She went for $500,000 and I owed a full $700,000. She would have went for more if that Cullen guy hadn't have stepped in and scared everyone else away from continuing to bid on her.

Fucking Cullen.

I didn't expect him to show up, what was he doing in a place like that anyway? I didn't think he was into that stuff, but hey, to each there own.

I'd heard of the great and powerful business man Edward Cullen. Some fucking prodigy of the business world. I didn't think so, all he did was have his daddy hand over his company and he built on it a little bit and everyone called him the fucking 9th wonder of the world.

Now because of his ass and my good for nothing step-sister, I was in here getting my ass beat because the deal I made wasn't good enough.

I received another kick to the gut when I heard _his _voice tell them to stop.

"I think that's enough for a moment Felix, thank you." His raspy voice called.

"Riley, have you thought of another way to get my money?" He asked me softly, threateningly.

I spit out some blood and lifted my head as far as I could.

"I do-don't know." I answered desperately. I had to think quick or he was going to kill me.

He sighed and brought his fingers up to his mouth, tapping them against his lips, seeming to think.

"Well Riley, that's a problem for you. I could do a couple things to get my money back, neither of which you will like I'm sure. I could kill you and get money off of your body and organs. Or I could just sell you like we sold your step-sister. You'd be surprised at how many people would like a young, good-looking man like you." He sneered.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, think Riley, think.

"Isn't there something w-we can do with Cullen? I m-mean, he's loaded right? Could we get anymore money from him?" I asked, reaching for anything that would get me more time.

He continued to stare at me for another few minutes and was starting to seriously sweat here. There was a knock on his office door and another guy in a suit walked in and whispered something in _his _ear. He looked surprised for a moment but hid it behind his usual stern papery face.

"Well, well Riley. I just found out some good news that might just keep you alive for a little longer." He taunted me.

"W-what?" I asked quietly.

"Cullen got a hold of my people. He wants to meet with me and work out a deal of sorts to pay off the rest of your bill. You can breathe for the moment." He smirked down at me and motioned for the guy holding onto me to release me.

Was he serious? Why the fuck would Cullen want to pay off the rest of my debt? Was my step-sister that good of a fuck? I wasn't going to question it too much though, if it meant I wouldn't die.

"Say, _thank you for not killing me and giving me another chance, Marcus_." He said sweetly, sickeningly and deadly.

"Thank you for not killing me and giving me another chance Marcus." I repeated, breathing a sigh of relief.

Maybe Cullen was good for something

**EPOV**

All I could think was, _Oh god, oh god, I'm never going to see her again if I don't fix this right now_.

I didn't understand her anger. Why would she want to help that bastard after everything he put her through? If I was in her position, I would say fuck him, he made his own mistakes, now he can pay for them. But Bella wasn't like that, even though he had put her through so much, she still wanted to save him.

Did Bella really have that good of a heart?

I opened the bedroom door that she had nearly slammed shut a couple minutes ago and found her sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, staring a the floor.

I slowly slid down the wall to mimic her position.

"Bella… please don't leave yet, I need you." I whispered to her.

"Why Edward? Why do you need me so much?" She asked softly.

I sighed an ran my hands through my hair again. This was the hard part, I was never good at getting my feeling out in the open.

"I don't really know why I need you, Bella. It's just this feeling that I have, that if you walk away a hole is going to be torn through my chest." I kept looking at her as I said this and she glanced up at me with trepidation in her eyes.

"Edward, I feel some of that too. Even though I know it's right and that any completely sane person would run away, board a plane and never look back, I just can't do it. A part of me wants to run, but a bigger part of me wants to stay here with you." Bella almost whispered to me, like she was afraid to say it out loud.

I breathed out, she felt it to, at least a bit of it. So I wasn't crazy. Now, to make things right where Riley was concerned.

"Bella, I don't really understand why you want to help Riley, but if it's what you really want, I'll see if I can do something." I said. I watched her face light up.

"Will you really help him?" She asked happily.

I nodded my head and was tackled onto my back with a thump as Bella launched herself at me in a hug.

I froze for a moment as my brain (and something else a little lower) registered Bella's warm, soft, curvy body mold itself to mine as she laid on top of me with her arms wrapped around my neck. I could feel her soft breasts pushing into my chest and her legs entwine with mine.

"Oh God, Edward! I'm sorry!" She exclaimed and tried to get herself off of me. All it did was push her hips into mine and I had to resist the urge to buck my hips up and push my cock into stomach. I squeezed my eyes shut while she continued to wiggle around on top of me.

"Bella… Bella, stop moving please." I ground out through gritted teeth. She immediately froze over me.

"What's wrong Edward?" She asked, genuinely curious.

_Did she not know what she was doing to me by squirming around like that? _

I gripped her around her waist and lifted her off of me and gently placed her onto the floor next to me. I sat up quickly and placed my forearms across my lap, trying to hide my erection from her.

The last thing I needed was for her to see and think I was some creep that was just getting my kicks.

"Nothing was wrong Bella, I just thought it would be easier if I helped." I smiled at her and she seemed to believe me.

"Oh, thanks. Sorry I tackled you like that, I'm just happy." She said and turned her head away. I could swear that I saw her blushing.

"It's okay Bella, I didn't mind, you just took me by surprise." I reassured her.

_Yeah, you obviously didn't mind it too much considering the huge boner you're trying to hide._

Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up.

"I'm going to go call a few people and see what I can do for Riley. Like I said before, make yourself at home." I said as I stood up carefully, making sure my shirt covered the front of my pants.

Her face lit up again and I smiled a little knowing that I had done something to make hr face glow like that.

"Thank you Edward." She said softly as I closed the door behind me.

I pulled my phone out and called Jenks again. I wanted to find and set up a meeting with the people that Riley had gotten into trouble with, and Jenks was just the guy to find those things out for me..

I went into my office, closing the door behind me so Bella couldn't here my conversation. He answered only after three rings.

"Hello Mr. Cullen, what can I do for you today?" Jenks answered.

"Hello Jenks, I need you to find someone for me."

.

.

.

.

.

I closed my phone and ran my fingers through my hair. _It seemed I was doing that a lot lately._

Jenks had just called me back to tell me that one of his hookups he called had made contact with someone in the organization told their boss or whatever and they agreed to meet with me. My name carried some weight even in the mafia, apparently. Not sure how I felt about that.

Now all I had to do was think of how I was going to get out of this alive. I figured that I would ask how much the idiot still owed and I could pay it, but then again nothing with the Brazilian Mob was that easy. I could tell this was going to get complicated, but I didn't care.

If it made Bella happy, if it put a smile on her face that lit up the room and my heart, I didn't care.

It was probably time to tell Bella the news, so I got up from my office chair and headed down the stairs. I turned the corner and saw Bella standing in the middle of the kitchen, practically chewing off her bottom lip, looking around.

"What's wrong Bella?" I spoke up and she nearly jumped out her skin and flipped around with a hand on her chest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I apologized.

She giggled and turned back around, surveying the kitchen.

"It's okay, I've always been a little jumpy. I was just wondering where I could find a plate, there's so many cabinets, I don't know where to start." She mused as she tapped her pointer finger on her chin. I wanted to grab that finger and put it between my lips and suck on it.

Whoa! Down boy! Non-sexual thoughts right now.

"I think the plates are over here." I said as I walked over to the middle cabinet and pulled out a black plate.

She blushed and thanked me, taking the plate from me and setting it down next to a loaf of bread, and ham and cheese, proceeding to make herself a sandwich.

I sat down on one of the stools and thought about how to approach this with her.

"I called around and I was able to get a meeting of sorts with the man that Riley got involved with." I came right out with it, leaving out the part were 'the man' was actually a mob boss. That might scare her a little.

"Really? Edward, I'm sorry I'm making you do this, but I just can't leave my stepbrother there with a good conscience." Bella said. She wouldn't look up at me, so I reached over the counter and grasped her chin, pulling her face up so I could look into her eyes.

"Bella, you're not making me do anything. I want to do this for you, if it makes you happy, I will help your stepbrother." I told her sincerely, keeping eye contact, hoping to convey to her that I was being truthful.

Her face became flushed and her eyes glazed over as she stared into my eyes.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, almost like she was coming out of a trance.

"Sorry, it's just that you're really good at dazzling me." She muttered, looking back down at her sandwich.

"I dazzle you?" I asked a little too smugly.

"Yes you dazzle me, I don't know how you do it, but you're good." She giggled. God, I loved that sound.

"So, when will all of this be happening?" Bella asked me.

"It's set up for tomorrow night. I'm going to ask Emmett if he'll come with me." I figured he would come with me, it wouldn't hurt to have the muscle behind me, they may think twice if I have a big, intimidating Emmett with me. If I didn't know him, I'd be scared of him.

"Aren't I coming with you, too?" She asked innocently.

_What_? Like hell she was coming with me to one of the mobs' bases for their organization. I told her just that.

"Edward, I'm going to come with you! He's _my_ step-brother; I can't just sit around while you do all the work! I won't say or do anything, hell, I'll stand behind Emmett if you want me to, but I'm going with you." She insisted.

"No you're not, Bella. What if you get hurt? I won't have it. This man is a very dangerous part of the mob." I said with authority. Shit, I let the mob thing slip.

Bella put the knife down (thank god, I was getting nervous) and walked around the counter to stand in front of me with her hands on her hips.

She looks like Rose when she does that, I shuddered.

"I'm not afraid of you Edward. You can't do anything to stop me short of tying me down and leaving me here while you go out, but I know that you won't do that to me. So you can't stop me from going." Was it weird that this stronger, defiant Bella was turning me on? Cause I was sporting major wood right now.

I pushed my horniness aside to deal with later and focused on the issue at hand.

"Bella, you can't go with me. It's too dangerous to go back to the place where you were sold on the black market." I said angrily.

Her eyes flashed and I realized my mistake.

"Sorry Bella, I didn't mean to bring that up again, it's just I don't want you to have to go back to that place, ever again. I want you to stay here and be safe." I apologized.

Her eyes softened and she reached out and took one of my hands in hers.

"Edward, that's very sweet of you, but you can't protect me from everything. The world is full of all kinds of dangers, I can't stay here on the island to avoid them all. There are even dangers here on the island. I could drown in the ocean, or I could be cooking something and burn or cut myself, I could fall down the stair, and numerous other things." She rubbed her thumb against the back of my hand as she spoke. Great now that she had named them off, I was having visions of all those things happening to her and I was having a slight panic attack.

"I understand that Bella, but this is a very extreme danger that you can avoid." I tried to make her see my point.

"Edward, I'm going with you. Whether you like it or not. I'll be fine, you and Emmett will be there. All we have to do is go in, give them the rest of the money that he owes them and leave." She said.

I hoped and prayed that it would be that easy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. Jesus Bale, writing this out every chapter is making me depressed. **

* * *

**BPOV**

I was woken up by a loud bang that came from somewhere within the house…I think.

_Bang_.

There it was again. What was it?

I crawled out of bed and stumbled to the door, opening it. The banging got louder and I could hear Edward cursing. What the hell was he doing?

I walked out to the living room, he wasn't here. I turned the corner to the kitchen; he was defiantly in here.

The kitchen was a disaster. I almost wanted a hazmat suit to even walk in there.

Some kind of white powder (most likely flour) was everywhere, it covered the counters so thickly I couldn't see them. Pots and pans littered the counters and a couple had fallen to the floor. The stove was layered in a white foamy substance and the cabinets above it looked slightly charred.

And then there was Edward. Oh my.

The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Edward with a shirt on was beautiful, Edward without a shirt on was gorgeous, marvelous, Adonis like. He was lean, but had plenty of muscle. Edward had abs that went for days and I wanted to run my hands over them again and again. With broad shoulders that came down to long, defined arms. I could see a light smattering of hair the trailed down from his belly button and disappeared into his pajama pants.

I had to remember to breathe before I passed out.

"Oh, hey Bella, I didn't think you'd be up for a little while." Edward said, leaning against the flour covered counter.

It took me a moment before I regained my voice. "Edward… What happened in here? It looks like a giant bag of flour exploded!"

He blushed and looked down at the ground.

"Well, that's kind of what happened," He started. "Not a _giant _bag, but I tried to open the bag of flour I had and it went everywhere. And I was trying to clean that up and I couldn't find the right pan so I could fry up some eggs and I forgot that I had one of the burners on with bacon cooking and it caught on fire, so I had to find the fire extinguisher and put that out. It turned into one huge mess and that's when you walked in."

He let out a large sigh and hung his head.

"I'm sorry, Bella. All I wanted to do was make you a decent breakfast and I almost burn down the kitchen." Edward apologized.

I smiled, he was so adorable.

"Oh Edward, you don't have to make me breakfast." I giggled. "I know cooking isn't your… strongest point."

He huffed and folded his arms over his chest.

"I know I don't _have _to, but I want to. Now I ruined everything." He mumbled, looking more like a dejected child than the confident man he was.

"It's okay. Tell you what, I'll help you clean up this mess if you help me make breakfast for us."

"Bell-"

"No." I interrupted him. "I can cook, so I want to cook for you. Think of it as me repaying you for making me breakfast that first morning."

After some grumbling he accepted and we began cleaning up the kitchen. After it was the cleanest it could get for now, I started breakfast. I decided to keep things simple with waffles after I found a waffle maker in one of the bottom cabinets. That way I didn't have to use the slightly burnt stove. I let Edward cut up some fruit and pour the orange juice; anything else would have been risky.

After a nice, quiet breakfast, which Edward thanked me profusely for several times, we went into the living and Edward suggested that we watch a movie to pass the time until we had to leave…

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.

I was a little scared, I'm not gonna lie, but I can't just let Edward go while I stay here. It was partly my problem; Riley was my stepbrother no matter how big of an asshole he may be. The main reason I was doing this for my mom and Phil. Hell, I think it was the only reason I was doing this.

Edward wasn't too happy about it, but he relented and let me go with him if I promised to stick to Emmett like glue. I swore up and down I wouldn't leave Emmett's side

He reluctantly agreed and he hadn't said anything else about it until now.

"Sure, a movie sounds great." I said, taking a place on the ridiculously comfy couch.

"Any preferences?" He asked, gesturing toward his expansive movie collection. I shook my head no and he turned to start looking through the many shelves.

Edward stuck in _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ and I giggled. When he looked at me funny I had to explain.

"This was my favorite movie growing up; it used to be the only thing I would watch. My mom and dad got so sick of having to sit through it with me that they threw it out and told me that it got lost. I haven't seen it in years." I was seriously pissed at my parents for that one, they didn't tell me that they had just thrown it away until I was fourteen and by then I had plenty of other things to occupy my time.

He chuckled and flopped down next to me. This was how the rest of the day went, us relaxing, watching movies and just talking, getting to know each other better. I learned that Edwards full name was Edward Anthony Cullen and that he was twenty-three, he told me about growing up with his parents hectic lifestyle; his father, Carlisle, was a doctor before he started his company and liked working for Doctors without Borders and his family taking trips to Africa every year to stay together. His mom, Esme, was an interior designer that worked for some major celebrities and she designed all the houses here on the island.

I told him about me; Isabella Marie Swan, eighteen, although he already knew my age, and about living with Renee and Charlie. Renee was flighty and I was always more of the adult between the two of us. Charlie's the police chief in Forks, Washington and a very protective dad. I talked about Renee getting a divorce and marrying Phil, a baseball player. Edward asked me if he was a major league player, but I told him that he was still a minor league player. Charlie had raised me pretty much on his own. My vacations with Renee and Phil, I left out the parts with Riley, I figured that it would be a sensitive subject, I didn't want to ruin the nice moment we were having.

I made a quick lunch of deli sandwiches that Edward seemed to really enjoy, I didn't understand why though, they were just sandwiches, but Edward said he hardly ate anything that wasn't microwavable or cooked by Emmett. I shook my head in disbelief as I wondered how the hell he managed to survive all these years.

By the end of the fourth movie, I was snuggled into Edwards's side (he still hadn't put a shirt on...score.) and he had his arm draped across the back of the couch.

"Well, we should probably get ready; Emmett will be here any minute." He said, stopping the DVD player.

I turned to look at him and our noses grazed, eyes locking together. I couldn't look away from his emerald pools, I felt him breathe out against my lips, the sweetness filling my head, making me dizzy. His eyes unlocked from mine to glance down to my lips and back up. He tilted his head the slightest bit to the right.

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Is he going to kiss me? Do I want him to kiss me? Yes. Sort of. _

My body was screaming at me yes, but my mind was telling me that this probably isn't a good idea. Unfortunately or fortunately, however you want to look at it, my body seemed to have cut off all communication to my brain and decided it wanted to act alone on this one.

"Bella…" He breathed out, leaning towards me. My hand had started to reach for his shoulder to pull him in closer when the front door burst open, scaring the hell out of both of us.

"Yo! You two ready yet, we gotta go if we're gonna make this!" Emmett's booming voice sounded out through the house.

Edward jumped back, almost falling off the couch and I jumped up, running a hand through my hair nervously. Jeez, Edwards's habits were already rubbing off on me.

"Don't you know how to knock Emmett?" Edward yelled.

"Why should I knock not like anything is-." Emmett walked into the living and froze when he took in our appearances. A shirtless Edward that looked agitated and was glancing nervously up at me and glaring at Emmett. I'm sure I was a nice shade of candy apple red by now and was fidgeting terribly.

"Huh?" Was all Emmett could manage to say.

"We're almost ready Em, just give us a few minutes to get dressed. Bella, you can use my room, I'll use the guest room." Edward mumbled and got off the couch.

"Oh Bells, Alice gave me some clothes to bring over for you since you don't have any of your own yet." He said, holding out a bag I just now realized that he'd been carrying. I took it from him quickly, muttering a thank you and practically ran into the bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind me.

Oh god I can't believe that just happened. Edward almost kissing me and us being caught by Emmett.

I had to take a few deep breaths before I was able to walk into the bathroom and turn the shower on.

After a quick shower, I dried my hair and got dressed in the clothes Alice gave me. It wasn't bad, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that hugged me nicely and a white V-neck shirt. There was also a pair of black leather knee high boots with small two inch heels. I wasn't sure about those, but I wore them anyway since they were all I have.

Edward was already in the living room talking to Emmett in hushed whispers, but stopped when I walked into the room. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that conversation was about.

We walked out to the boat and Emmett helped me onto it, almost tripping and falling on my face, but Edward caught me and I could feel the tension between us. Great, now things are going to get awkward again.

Emmett got me safely situated in the boat with me tripping again and then plopped down next to me, Edward upfront driving.

"I've never been in a boat like this before." I mused out loud as Edward started up the boat.

Emmett chuckled. "Umm, actually you have B, you were just unconscious for it."

Oh, I had forgotten about that. Great.

"Emmett…" Edward called back as a warning.

Emmett rolled his eyes but shut up after that and the trip to the mainland was quiet the rest of the way.

We reached the mainland after about a half an hour and someone from the marina was there to tie the boat up and we walked down the marina together, with me almost wedged between Edward and Emmett, where an expensive looking black car was waiting.

As we approached the car, a man got out of the driver's seat and came forward to greet us. His hair was jet black and slicked back all the way and he was wearing a suit that had seen better days. I had assumed that Edward or Emmett would drive, I was a little nervous about getting into the car with a mobster.

"Mr. Cullen, my name is Santiago and Mr. Marcus Volturi sent me to escort you to the meeting." He stuck out his hand to Edward but Emmett intercepted and shook it instead.

His voice rattled something in my head and I whimpered a little when I realized he was the same driver at the night I was kidnapped.

Edward must have heard me because he reached over and gripped my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. It helped; my body relaxed knowing that Edward was there. I know he wouldn't allow this man to harm me.

Santiago opened the back door, motioning for us to get in. Emmett went first and stuck his head into the car, looked around the backseat before getting in himself and giving Edward the go ahead to let me in, I slid in and was followed close behind by Edward.

I got to watch the city go by as we drove, it was breathtaking and amazing. Tall skyscrapers and beautiful sights that I wanted to stop and see more of, but now was defiantly not the time, maybe with Rose and Alice when I went shopping with them. Sooner than I had hoped, the ride was over and we had pulled in front of a tall, ominous dark building, I recognized it immediately; this is where I had been _sold_. I cringed at the word.

The memories from that time were still a little fuzzy, but I remember the way the building had seemed impressive and beautiful with all of its glass siding and extravagant rounded entryway.

I knew that we would be coming here, but I wasn't ready for all the emotions that came flooding back, the fear, anger, helplessness, and anxiety.

"Bella, are you going to be okay?" Edward whispered in my ear. I turned my head to him and our noses almost touched he was leaning in so close. I had a sense of deja vu and I looked down, blushing. I quickly realized that I had a death grip on Edwards poor hand. I immediately released it.

"I'll be fine Edward; it's just a little overwhelming that's all. I've been trying to ignore these memories and coming back here…" I tried to explain, trailing off at the end.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair once again, his eyes scrunching shut tightly.

"I'm sorry Bella, I was afraid something like this would happen, I knew you should have stayed home."

"No, no Edward, I'm still glad I came here, let's just hurry up and get this done as quick as possible, okay?" I reassured him.

He looked unsure for a moment but seemed to get over it.

"Alright, but tell me if it gets to be too much for you, we can leave." He said as the door was opened.

I nodded and he slid out of the car, turning around and holding his hand out for me.

Emmett came out after me and took his place on my other side, grabbing my other hand. I looked up at him curiously.

"It's cool Belly B, I won't let anything happen to you. Besides, Rosie would kill me if a hair on your pretty little head is out of place when we get back, that is if there's anything left after Edward's finished with me." He chuckled and winked at me. I couldn't help but smile in return, I was quickly realizing that Emmett was good for lightening a heavy atmosphere.

We followed Santiago, A.K.A- Kidnapper into the building, past five guards that were standing at the door and into an elevator. I didn't like being enclosed in a small space with this man, he kept looking at me and it was making me uncomfortable. I took a step closer to Edward and he put his arm around me tentatively, like he wasn't sure if I would rip it off or not. I looked up at him and saw that he was glaring at Santiago as if he were about to jump over and beat the hell out of him. Santiago quickly looked away and stared straight ahead the rest of the way. I didn't say anything; somehow it made me feel safer that Edward was so protective over me.

The elevator dinged and opened, Santiago stepped out in front of us, and Emmett followed first with me close behind him and Edward behind me.

All around us there were slot machines, poker tables and roulette tables. It looked like a casino.

Was that what this building was used for? I couldn't really notice anything last time I was here for obvious reasons. I guess it made sense for a mobster to have their 'headquarters' in a casino, maybe a little cliché, but still.

We followed Santiago to a door at the other side of the room were two guards were standing on either sides. They nodded at Santiago and opened the door in unison.

I had to withhold a gasp at what I saw inside the large room.

There had to be at least twenty guards scattered around the entire room, with four in the middle where a man in a very expensive looking suit sat at a mahogany desk. The man was extremely pale, with dark brown hair that came down to hang limply past his ears and piercing blue eyes. He looked to be about forty, maybe a little older; his skin held few wrinkles but it looked thin, kind of papery. The man held himself with authority and commanded the attention of everyone in the room. He was obviously the boss here.

"Welcome Mr. Cullen! I'm glad you could make it, was the trip to your liking?" Boss guy asked, a bit too enthusiastic. I thought he was over doing it.

"The trip here was fine, Marcus, thank you." Edward said sternly. I jumped at Edwards tone. I'd never heard him speak like that before. Then I remembered that Edward was a very successful and popular businessman. Was he just slipping back into his normal self?

"Good, good. Ah, and this must be the young lady that you purchased from us." Marcus's beady eyes studying me closely, the way he was looking at me made me want to cross my arms in front of my chest and bury my face in Edwards shoulder.

Edward tensed at his comment but showed nothing on his face. "Yes, this is her."

Marcus smirked.

"Now Mr. Cullen, I'm sure that you are a man that doesn't like to beat around the bush, so let's get to the point shall we?" Marcus said, twinning his fingers together under his chin.

"Fine by me." Edward said.

Marcus turned his head slightly to the right and whispered something to the guard next to him. The guard walked over to another door in the room and opened it.

"Hey! What the hell! Get your hands off me!" Someone was shouting from the other room.

I froze. I know that voice; it was Riley.

Two men dragged Riley out and threw him onto the floor beside Marcus's desk. His hands were tied up behind his back and his face was all bloody and bruised, and I'm sure a lot more of him was like that that I couldn't see.

My first instinct was to go to him and help, but as soon as I took a step forward, Edward grabbed my wrist and jerked me back almost painfully.

"Stay here Bella." Edward commanded harshly. Yes, _commanded_. I bristled; I hated being told what to do like I was a five year old. I would have smacked him for the way he said it to me if his tone didn't scare me so much.

I didn't say anything, just looked back at Riley and frowned. He finally noticed that we were here and was staring up at me with pleading eyes.

"Bella, oh thank god you came here for me, thank you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I didn't know what else to do, you're not too mad at me about that, are you?" He asked me, his voice sickeningly sweet.

I balked at him. He expected me to not be mad about what he did? Was he stupid? He sold me to save his own butt and then thinks that I'm here to save him because I'm not angry about it.

_This is for Renee and Phil, this is for Renee and Phil_, I had to keep repeating in my head. I was doing this for them, we'd get Riley out, send him on his way and I'd never have to deal with his sorry butt again.

I opened my mouth to tell him to basically piss off when Edwards grip on my wrist tightened, warning me not to say anything.

"Shut him up." Marcus said. One of the guards kicked him in the ribs and he screamed out, but didn't say anything else. "You're very good with your merchandise Edward; you have a tight rein on her. Tell me something, I'm curious; did you have fun breaking her? She's very submissive." He chuckled.

I looked up through my lashes to see Edward's jaw clench and unclench, I wondered what his answer was going to be. He would obviously have to lie to Marcus.

"She wasn't too bad, a little stubborn at first, but I liked the challenge."

Marcus grinned, "Very nice, I'm a little upset though. You know, when they first brought her in, I was thinking about keeping her for myself, but my current pet became a little jealous when I mentioned it to her, so I spoiled her a bit and let this little gem go."

A shudder ran down my spine. Marcus wanted me for himself? I desperately tried to keep the horrible images of what a life as Marcus's sex slave would have been like. I barely kept my dinner down.

"Well, that's too bad, but I quite enjoy her, so I have to say that I'm very lucky that you let her go." Edward said politely.

"Well, now I almost want her back." Edward tensed again. "But, if you've already beaten all the fight out of her, I don't know how much fun she'd be." Marcus mused. "But, that's not what we're here to discuss. You're here to pay the remainder of Riley's bill to me, correct?"

Edward nodded.

"Well, I want something different than money from you. I want to play a game." Marcus said.

I was confused and apparently so was Edward.

"What kind of game?" He questioned.

Marcus grinned and stood up for the first time since we'd arrived. Standing up he wasn't much better. He was slim, but looked only to be about 5'10". Edward was so much taller. He walked around his desk to stand in front of it, two of his guards moving with him.

"I want to play a game of Russian roulette." He stated simply.

I think my jaw about hit the ground and I heard Emmett grunt behind me, but Edward didn't show any signs of distress or disbelieve. He actually smiled.

"Alright, any certain rules that you want to ad on?" Edward asked. He sounded… excited? He couldn't possibly be excited about this. And what was Marcus thinking? He was going to risk his life on a game of Russian Roulette, wasn't he some big mob boss? He couldn't be that stupid.

Something in the back of my mind told me that this was a trick. Marcus was so sure that he wouldn't be the loser that he must have something planned. I tried to warn Edward about what I thought, but he was ignoring me.

"No, just the traditional rules, but if it would make you more comfortable, I'll even let you put the bullets in." He said and pulled a shiny silver gun out from the of his side waist, he started unloading the gun, but Edward spoke up and stopped him.

"If you don't mind Marcus, I'd like to use my own gun." Edward said and he to pulled a gun out from the right side of his waist. I gasped. Edward was carrying around a gun! Why didn't he tell me? Was Emmett carrying one to?

Edward looked at me from the corner of his eye and winked at me. What the hell was that about? Was he trying to tell me that I shouldn't be worried? I didn't understand the way Edwards mind worked. The man was so damn confusing sometimes.

Marcus's grin didn't falter, "Of course, if that's what you want, I have no objections." He put his gun back and waited for Edward.

"All but one chamber is empty, making only one bullet in the gun." Edward informed him. "Now, if you win, what do you get?"

"Ah, see, I've been thinking about that, and I don't think that Riley's payment is enough now. If I win, I will forgive Riley's payment, but I want this lovely young lady as my new pet." He smirked and looked at me hungrily. I couldn't resist taking a step back. Emmett surrounded the top of my arms with his massive hands and pulled me a little toward him.

"Alright, and if I win?" What? Edward was okay with that condition? Did he really not care about me as much as he says?

_No, I couldn't think like that, he is just putting up a front; he must know what he's doing_.

"If you win, you may take Riley and girl and leave without any harm coming to you, and we will never have to speak to each other again if you wish."

Edward nodded in agreement. "Would you like to go first Marcus?" He asked.

Marcus shook his head yes and Edward held the gun out to him. Marcus spun the chamber around and clicked it into place and brought it up to the side of his head. I held my breath and I can't believe that I actually wished for this mans' death, but I did, because if he died, Edward would live. The thought of Edward dying was horribly unsettling, making me nauseous and my head ache for some reason.

Marcus finally pulled the trigger. Nothing.

I let out my breath and glanced nervously at Edward. He looked so calm and collected as he took the gun away from Marcus.

It took everything I had and Emmett holding onto me to keep from running to Edward and grabbing the gun away from him.

He brought the gun up to his head and held it there for a second, not looking away from Marcus and pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Don't hate me. Okay? Have faith in me.**

**As always, please leave a review. You know you wanna push that button down there and yell at me.**


	10. Chapter 10

**BPOV**

My eyes were open wide; a sob threatening to escape from my throat. I watched carefully as he brought the hammer back and pulled the trigger-

_Click_

No shot rang out, there was no bullet.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, placing my hand against my chest to calm my rapid heartbeat. Edward handed the gun back over to Marcus and waited.

I watched with baited breath as Marcus placed the gun against his head and saw a bead of sweat travel down his temple to the barrel, he pulled the trigger for the second time. Nothing….

Marcus smirked and handed it off to Edward.

This went on a few more times, until both of them only had one turn left.

One bullet that could take Edward away forever.

It was Edward's turn again and I was about to have a breakdown with all of this tension.

I heard a soft chuckled and looked to my right, Riley was sitting up against a wall looking on with a smirk on his face.

"What are you laughing at?" I hissed at him.

His head snapped toward me and his smile died for a second before picking back up.

"Oh nothing, just that Cullen is going to die." He said nonchalantly.

I about stepped over and punched him in his already beaten and bruised face.

"What the hell do you mean? Edward has a fifty/fifty chance. It could be Marcus that dies." I said. I was trying desperately to believe the words I spoke.

"I don't think so. This is Marcus's playground, the game is probably rigged somehow. Or even if the next shot doesn't kill Cullen, do you honestly think Marcus will let him live?" Riley said.

My eyes watered at the thought of this killing Edward, but I refused to let Riley see me cry.

"First of all, Edward _will _win this and we will walk out of here, and second, you're a idiot! If Edward wins, you are free too! How can you sit there and say all those things when he's your only chance at freedom?" I said and turned away from him, refusing to acknowledge him anymore.

I heard him snort but he didn't say anything else.

I focused back on Edward.

He looked so calm and collected, I wondered how he was doing it and if he could give me some freaking tips after we made it out of here.

He started to bring the gun up to his head, but paused and looked over to me. My breath caught in my throat as his emerald green eyes caught mine. That one look from him broke the little amount of control I had built up.

I wrenched my arm out of Emmett's grasp and practically ran to Edward. I didn't stop until I collided with Edwards chest and I wrapped my arms around his torso, burying my face into his chest.

"Don't… please don't do this. You don't have to die because of me." I begged him in a whisper, just loud enough for him to hear and no one else.

I felt his arms wrap around me and squeezed lightly.

"Bella… I'm going to be fine, I promise." His breath fanned against the top of my head as he spoke.

"You can't know that! As much as I want to believe that you won't die, there's still a chance and I don't want you to take it." I whisper-yelled into his chest. Then I looked up slightly so I could see his face. He was staring down at me intently, with something in his eyes that I couldn't decipher. "I… I don't want to lose you Edward."

His eyes bore into mine and his lips parted slightly.

"You… don't want to lose me? Why?" He asked.

"I can't explain it, I just don't. I can't stand the thought of you dying." I told him. I could feel my face becoming redder and redder by the second.

Edward smiled that crooked smile of his and he tilted his face down lower to mine.

"Bella, can I do something?" He whispered.

"W-what?" I stuttered, a little stunned by his closeness.

"Can I kiss you?" He breathed.

My eyes widened at his request. He wants to _kiss _me? My heartbeat speed up double time and my breathing became deep. I caught my bottom lip in between my teeth and stared up at him. Did I want him to kiss me? Did I want to kiss him? Yesterday I would have said no, but now, thinking back to earlier on the couch, I knew he would have kissed me if Emmett hadn't interrupted us. And truthfully, I had wanted him to kiss me then.

I wanted Edward to kiss me, I wanted that more than anything

His face turned from questioning, to disappointed, to then accepting.

"It's okay Bella, I underst-" He started to say, but I cut him off with my fingers against his lips.

_God they are so soft. Focus Bella. _

"Yes." I said.

"Yes?" He asked.

I smiled a little and nodded my head.

Edward grinned and leaned down slowly, stopping just an inch from my lips.

"You sure?" He asked.

I nodded, completely beyond words.

My breath stopped as his lips gently brushed against mine, they were wet and warm, making me melt into him. His lips molded against mine and I gasped slightly and he took that as a chance to take my lower lip and began sucking on it gently. I sighed and relaxed into his arms that were wrapped around me, one around my waist and the other around my back with his hand resting against the back of my head, his fingers threading lightly through my hair.

I think I may have moaned, but before I could get embarrassed enough to pull away, his soft tongue snaked out and ran along my bottom lip, successfully erasing every thought in my head.

_Oh… my… god… So good…_

I was about to open my mouth further for his delicious tongue, but he pulled away slowly, giving me one, two, three chaste kisses before pulling away completely.

"Bella…" I heard him whisper.

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, dazed. Edward was looking down at me with a smile on his face and I could hear a few throats being cleared around us.

"Ooops." I said and ducked my head down, hiding behind the curtain my hair created.

Edward laughed and ran his hands up and down my arms soothingly.

"No, please don't 'ooops'. You did nothing wrong angel, we just need to continue this later." He said.

"Edward-"

"Go stand next to Emmett again, it'll be over in a minute." He whispered and leaned down, planting another quick kiss against my lips.

I backed away reluctantly and felt Emmett grab my arm and pull my to him.

"Well, well Belly B, look at you gettin some." He chuckled.

I blushed and glared up at him.

"Hush or I'll tell Rose that you hurt my feelings" I retorted.

I had meant it to be teasing, but I think he took it rather seriously because his eyes widened and he looked straight ahead.

I suddenly remembered what was about to happen and quickly turned back to Edward.

He had already put the gun to his head, but instead of looking at Marcus like that last few times, his eyes locked with mine.

I was struggling to breath, I felt like my heart was about to burst out of my chest and I was torn between staring into his eyes or snapping mine shut so I wouldn't have to see the possible bloodbath that was about happen.

It felt like slow motion as his finger pulled back against the trigger.

I heard the gun click and I could hold in the scream.

"No!" I screamed and shut my eyes, burying my face in my hands.

My time spent with Edward flashed before my eyes.

The first time I saw him in that crowd when I was on stage, when he wrapped me up in his shirt and carried me out, telling me he wouldn't hurt me and I was safe. Edward cooking breakfast for me even though he sucked at it. Us sitting down with his family to have breakfast and the look on his face when I told him I had finally remembered everything and said that I knew he wouldn't hurt me. When we were walking on the beach and he started laughing and he called me angel. Our fight and him pleading with me not to leave because he needed me. Me waking up and walking into the mess the kitchen was and helping Edward make breakfast, our time watching movies on the couch and talking about our lives. The almost kiss we had. The amazing kiss we just had moments ago and everything in-between.

It was a very short time, but I realized that it was the best time of my life. Edward had made my boring, predictable life exciting. He made it so that I didn't have any clue as to what would happen after I woke up in the morning.

And now he was gone because I was a selfish child that wanted to save someone who isn't worth saving in the first place.

I sobbed into my hands, refusing to look up.

"No… no…no… Oh god no…" I moaned-cried into my hands.

"Bella, it's okay." Emmett said.

"No it's not! Edward is dead because I wanted to save Riley's pathetic ass. I'm sorry Emmett, I'm sorry!" I sobbed.

"No Bella, it's okay." Emmett soothed and I felt his hands trying to pull mine away from my face.

I felt a hand on my arm that wasn't Emmett's, thinking it was Marcus or one of his henchmen, I jerked away and turned to slap him across the face. Swinging my arm back and swung it forward, I heard the sharp crack resonate throughout the air and felt the sting against my hand. I looked up to the man, ready to scream and yell and fight when I caught sight of a color I thought I'd never be able to look at again.

Copper.

"Son of bitch! Ow Bella! That hurts, remind me to never piss you off." He grumbled as he rubbed his cheek.

"Edward?" I gasped.

"Yes?" He smiled at me.

"But… but… I thought you were dead." I stuttered disbelievingly.

"Nope." He said and shrugged his shoulders.

"What the hell do you mean 'nope'?" I asked, getting a little angry now that I knew he was okay.

"I'm fine Bella. It wasn't the chamber with the bullet in it." He said.

I opened and closed my mouth in disbelief, then a wave a relief washed through my body and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Bella, I want you to go downstairs with Emmett." He said.

I looked up at him to see that he was looking over at a very angry looking Marcus.

"But-"

"Please do this for me, I'll be down in a few minutes." He pleaded.

I bit my lip and nodded, understanding that he was probably about to do something I didn't want to be witness to.

"Okay." I agreed.

He turned away, putting me behind his back until Emmett grabbed me and started walking with me directly in front of him until we got out of the room and past the guards. He didn't let go of me until we got in the elevator and it began the trip down to the bottom floor.

"Emmett, we can't just leave him up there on his own." I said.

"Trust me, Eddie knows what he's doing, I'm not worried about him, it's you I have to worry about, making sure that you're safe." Emmett told me.

I had a feeling he was saying this just to placate me, but I knew I couldn't really go up against Emmett, he was freaking huge, there was no way I could get around him.

I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed, not liking leaving Edward up there at all.

The ride down was slow and silent, but we finally reached the bottom floor. Emmett pushed me behind and looked out the elevator doors, probably making sure that no one was waiting to put a cap in us.

I rolled my eyes when he started acting like one of those guys from the SWAT Team, giving me all kinds of weird hand signals. I had enough when he started to mimic having sex and stepped around him to walk into the lobby, figuring that if he was being stupid, there wasn't any danger.

"Oh geez, you and Eddie do belong together, neither of you can take a joke." He grumbled, catching up to me.

"I can take a joke, I just can't find anything funny because of the situation we're in." I explained.

"But being funny and laughing at jokes is what makes things like this less stressful." He laughed.

I stopped when a limo pulled in front of us that wasn't the one we had come here in.

I turned to Emmett and pointed questioningly at the new car.

"Do you really think Edward would trust Marcus to drive us out of here and we'd stay alive? He arranged to have his own car waiting here for us when we left." He explained like it was completely obvious.

"Okay…" I trailed off.

"Come on, lets go ahead and get in." He opened the back door and gestured for me to go in first. Emmett followed me and we sat quietly waiting for Edward.

I wondered what he was doing up there. I gasped, Riley was still up there.

"Um Emmett?" I turned to him.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"What about Riley?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Edward will come down with him…maybe." He mumbled the last word, probably hoping I wouldn't hear it, but I did, and honestly, I didn't care if Edward left Riley up there with Marcus. He didn't really deserve to be rescued after the things he said to me about Edward.

It was a few minutes before movement outside the car caught my eye. It was Edward, dragging a bound and gagged Riley behind him. My eyes widened and Emmett opened the door and stepped out.

"Bella, scoot over." Edward said. He sounded out of breath and I frowned, but did as he said, pressing myself against the opposite door.

Edward pushed Riley into the car onto the bench seat on the other side of me and followed behind, sitting down next to Riley, holding him still. Emmett came back in and sat down, closing the door and yelling for the driver to go.

I was glancing at Riley warily, then over to Edward, concerned. Edward looked out of breath, he was sweating slightly and wouldn't look at me.

"Edward… are you-" I started.

"Later Bella, let's talk about it later." He interrupted me.

I raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't see it because he still wasn't looking at me. I held my tongue and dropped it, feeling slightly hurt and instead turned to peer out the window.

The car ride was eerily quiet, with Riley taking turns glaring daggers between me and Edward, Emmett glaring at Riley, Edward glaring at the floor and me glaring out the window. Not the most comfortable car ride of my life.

We reached the dock and Edward dragged Riley out and Emmett and I followed silently. The boat was still sitting there in the water waiting for us.

We boarded the boat, Edward making sure that Riley didn't get near me, and began the ride back to the island.

This time, instead if Edward driving the boat, Emmett sat up front at the wheel while Edward sat next to me, Riley on his other side. Edward still wouldn't look at me and I was beginning to worry.

Did he regret the kiss now that he knew there wasn't a chance he was about to die? Was it something that happened after Emmett and I left?

I kept staring at him, willing him to look at me like I had some Jedi Mind trick I could use on him. It wasn't working. I was so intent on staring Edward down that I didn't realize that we were almost to the island until I felt the boat jerk to a stop.

"Bella, I want you to go to Emmett's house, Rose and Alice are there, and tell Jasper to that Em and I need him for something over at my place." Edward said, still not looking me in the eyes.

Okay, I understand him telling me to do all those things when we were back on the mainland because it probably involved my safety and not being killed by a mob boss, but I draw the line when he tries to tell me to go hide with Rose and Alice while they do not so nice things to Riley. I'm not stupid, they're probably gonna go 'ruff him up' or whatever the hell they call it in real life, then send him packing, telling him to never come near me again.

And I have had enough of Edward not looking at me. It was getting a bit ridiculous.

"No." I said and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Bella, please just do it." Edward sighed. _Still not looking anywhere near me_.

"No, not until you tell me why you won't look at me." I insisted.

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. I noticed Emmett chuckling but didn't pay him any attention, I was completely focused on Edward.

"Not right now, please. We can talk about it later." He pleaded.

"I want to talk about it now." I demanded. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I was being a bit of a drama queen, but I didn't care right now and pushed the thought aside.

"Fine." He growled and pushed Riley toward Emmett and reached over to take my hand and pulled me along with him to his house. He wasn't pulling enough to hurt me, just enough to make sure that I followed him.

He flung his front door open, made sure I was inside, then nearly slammed it shut. I jumped slightly and jerked away from him out of instinct. He noticed and immediately let go of my hand, a pained look crossed his face and he ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm so sorry Bella, please don't be scared, I won't ever hurt you." He apologized quickly.

"I know you won't hurt me Edward, you just startled me." I reassured him. I realized that he was finally looking at me and took the opportunity to actually look at him.

His mouth was turned down in a frown and his eyes held a look I didn't recognize, they looked sad, but there was something else to it.

"Edward, why wouldn't you look at me or talk to me except to give me orders?" I asked.

"I didn't mean to make it sound like I was ordering you around Bella, I just wanted to make sure that you were safe." He explained as he walked over toward the couch and sitting down heavily on it. I followed him and sat down slowly a couple feet away from him.

"Okay, but that still doesn't tell me why you won't look at me." I pressed.

"Bella, I… did something back there that I'm not at all proud of. I couldn't look at you, hell, I still can't."

"What did you do? I can't be that bad can it?" I asked. _Did I really want to hear this? Was it really bad?_

He shook his head and went to stand up but I stopped him, grabbing onto his forearm and pulling him back down with all my strength. It wasn't easy, Edward isn't exactly a small man.

"What did you do?" I repeated forcefully, still holding onto him tightly.

He buried his face in his hands and rub them up and down roughly. He mumbled something but I couldn't hear because it was muffled by his hands.

"Edward, I can't hear you." I said.

"I killed them." He said louder.

I gasped and pulled my hands away from his arm out of shock.

"You… you killed them?" I asked softly.

Edward nodded his head, that was still buried in his hands.

"Now you understand why I couldn't look at you. Why would you want to look at a killer?" He asked dejectedly.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. What surprised me was that I wasn't scared. Shouldn't I be scared? I was sitting on a couch with a man that had just admitted to me that he killed a major mob boss. How the hell did he even pull that off? There was like twenty heavily armed guards in that room, did Edward have some sort of ninja superhero C.I.A spy training that he was keeping under wraps?

"Are you a spy?" I blurted out. _Oh Jesus. _

Edward's head shot up and he looked at me like I had another head growing out of my shoulder.

"What?" He asked.

"How did you kill Marcus? There were all those guards, how did you manage to kill all of them and get out alive, with Riley?" I was in complete wonder and disbelief.

Edward stared at me openmouthed for a few seconds.

"I tell you that I just killed people and you ask me how I was able to do it? You're a strange one Bella." He chuckled.

"I can't figure out how it's even possible." I said defensively.

"You really want to hear the details?" He asked.

"Well… no. I just want to know how you got out alive." I said to make it clear.

"The edited version is that I kind of took Marcus as a hostage, shot a few of the guards that tried to shoot me first, told Riley to get up and start walking or I'd shoot him too and when we were almost out of the building I killed Marcus. I had to kill him or we never would have gotten out of there alive." Edward explained.

"Well, I guess I can't really be… upset about you killing them." I said.

"Why the hell not?" Edward asked, his eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"You did it out of self defense! If you hadn't have shot those guards, they would have killed you. And then there's Marcus, he sure as hell wouldn't have let us live after that. It's okay, well, maybe not okay, but you did it to save our lives. You shouldn't be ashamed of that." I told him.

"You're amazing you know that?" He asked with a smile.

"Why?" I giggled.

"Because if I had told anyone else that, they would have called the cops or run screaming out the door." He mused.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I wouldn't do that, you're just going to be stuck with me for another six months." I teased.

"That's not much of a punishment." Edward murmured, smirking.

At the talk of punishment and for some reason my mind went to the gutter and I began thinking about kinky sex games involving handcuffs, whips and lots of spanking. I bit my lip and suppressed a shudder at the thought.

"Why are you blushing, angel?" Edward questioned.

_Why did I have to love it so much when he calls me angel? Oh well, I wasn't really complaining._

"Nothing." I muttered and turned my head away from him to try to hide my pink face.

"You have to be blushing about something. Please tell me what it is." I looked at him and saw that he was pouting slightly. Now how the hell can I resist that?

"You were talking about punishment." I said softly.

"Punishment? Why would that make yo-" He stopped short and a huge smile broke out across him face. He chuckled and looked at me. "I didn't think that you were into that kinky stuff."

I swear I could feel my face get even redder.

"I'm not!" I shrieked. I cleared my throat and tried to lower my voice. "It was just a thought that crossed my mind."

"Oh really? That's odd that your mind would immediately go to that." He said, still chuckling.

I rolled my eyes and laid back on the couch, turning away from him in an attempt to ignore him. It was working to until I felt his fingers brush my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"Bella, seriously, are you sure that you're okay about what I did back there?" He asked, all of the humor on his face was gone now.

I faced him and reached up to grab his hand from my hair and intertwine my fingers with his.

"Yes Edward, although it's not my first choice, it had to be done. You're right, Marcus never would have let us out alive." I nearly whispered to him.

He nodded and a small smile appeared on his face again.

"So, if you're okay, I was wondering if I could maybe get another one of those amazing kisses?" He asked, playing with my fingers that were still wrapped up in his.

"You want to kiss me again?" I was surprised. I thought that maybe he had only kissed me in the first place because he thought he was going to die.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I? But if you don't want to Bella, that's okay too. I won't force you to do anything. You know that right? You don-" He rambled on.

I cut him off by leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. He was obviously surprised, I could feel him tense and pull back a little, but after a few seconds, he relaxed and pushed his lips right back. Edward wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him, his hands kneading into my back. My hands reached up tentatively to rest on his broad shoulders. His lips worked against mine, sucking my bottom lip in between his and running his tongue along it continuously. I parted my lips a little and his tongue slipped between them slowly, questioningly. I pulled back a little, unsure, I'd never actually been kissed like _that _before.

"What's wrong angel?" Edward questioned softly.

"I'm just not used to kissing like that… with tongues." I whispered the last part like it was a dirty word. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I wasn't sure how to do any of it.

"You've never been kissed properly?" He asked in disbelief.

"Never." I confirmed.

"If you'll let me, I'd like to change that, angel." Edward breathed out.

_God that's sexy. _

I nodded my head in agreement and his lips once again connected with mine. His tongue went back to my bottom lip, sweeping across it, asking for access. I opened my mouth again and his tongue gently entered further, reaching until I felt it lightly touch against mine. I gasped at the feeling but didn't pull away, instead leaning into him and snaking my hands up to wrap around his neck, pulling him to me.

I heard someone moan, probably me, but I didn't care one single bit. This felt amazing! Why the hell hadn't I done this before? Oh yeah, because no guy had ever been interested before now. Although I think that if I had done this with any other guy, it wouldn't have felt half as good as it does with Edward.

I was running out of breath and was about to pull away, but Edward did so first. Instead of stopping like I thought he would, his lips went immediately from mine, to my neck, placing wet kisses up and down my throat. By now, I was a panting, moaning mess and this wasn't helping anything, not complaining though.

I let out a low whine and shuddered when his lips attached themselves to the pulse point at the top of my neck and began lightly sucking. I tilted my head back to allow him better access and boy did he take it.

His right hand was resting on the top of my thigh and his other hand was wrapped around the back of my neck, holding me to his mouth.

"Edward…" I whimpered. I wanted something, I wanted more… I wanted Edward; I just didn't know how to ask for it.

His lips detached from my neck and I was about to protest until I heard his voice, it was deep and husky, that made a shiver run up my spine and my breathing hitch. "Do you want me to stop Bella?"

I shook my head no, unable to form words at this point and started pulling him back to me.

Edward pushed me back gently until I was laying across the couch, his eyes never leaving mine as he crawled up and laid next to me. He reached up to sweep him fingers lightly against my cheek making my eyes flutter and close. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, both cheeks and my nose before finally meeting my mouth.

His hand, that was currently resting on my hip, moved up slowly to rest on my ribs, just under my left breast, stopping and not moving up another inch.

I pushed my torso up a little into his hand, trying to give him a hint, but his hand didn't budge.

"Edward, it's okay." I whispered around his lips.

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes and speak properly.

"Are you sure, I don't want to overstep anything?" He questioned. I thought that it was sweet that he was trying to be a gentleman and not touch anyplace that he thought would make me uncomfortable, but I found that I really wanted him to touch me there.

"I'm sure Edward. I um… want you to touch me there." I answered him shyly.

He smiled and resumed kissing me. His hand finally began to move up, his fingers ghosting over my breast until he was cupping it in his large warm hand, kneading it delicately. I gasped as a shot of electricity flowed directly from his hand to my core, making me rub my thighs together and moan loudly.

"Do you like that angel?" He murmured around my lips.

I moaned again and I guess he took that as a yes because he did something else that felt even better. Edward's thumb brushed against my nipple, pressing against it enough so I could feel it through my shirt and bra.

"Edward." I panted.

"So beautiful." He muttered, moving his lips against my jaw and down my neck, leaving a wet trail. I moved my hand up to his hair and did what I've wanted to do since I first saw him; I ran my fingers through his soft hair, tugging on places along the way.

Edward grunted against my neck, so I guess that he likes it. I felt an odd pleasure of sorts to know that he was enjoying something I was doing to him.

His thigh slipped between mine and pressed against _there_.

I tensed for a moment, unsure if this was getting too far. Edward felt the change and pulled back.

"I'm so sorry Bella. Jesus, I didn't mean to do that." He cursed under his breath and moved back.

I stopped him before he could get up.

"Edward, it was fine, amazing actually, but I'm just not sure if I'm ready to go that far yet." I explained.

His eyes softened and he leaned back down to me.

"Bella, I understand. You never have to do anything you're not comfortable with, angel. If I do something like that again and you don't like it, tell me, me slap me, yell at me, anything." He said.

"I will, but I don't think that I'll have to. I didn't have to say anything a minute ago but you sensed that I wasn't sure and you stopped." I told him.

He looked like he was about to say something else, so I stopped him with my lips. He melted back into me without another sound of protest.

Before we could fully resume what we had been doing, the front door flew open with a bang, Edward tried to move off of me but he didn't make it before Rosalie stormed into the living room.

"Other the fact that I need bleach for my eyes for what I just walked in on and I'm trying to decide if I should be cutting off your balls Edward, we have a problem with Riley." Rose growled.

* * *

**Well…? Whatcha think? Marcus is dead and they now have Riley, but there's still more to go. And trust me, there will be lemons. Nobody panic.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. Trufax.**

* * *

**BPOV**

I had completely forgotten about Riley, I was so wrapped up in the little bubble Edward and I had created that I didn't even know there were other people on the planet.

After Rose had barged in on Edward and I making out on the couch, we quickly and nervously pulled ourselves together under Rose's watchful eye and made our way over to her house. The entire way Rose was not so subtly questioning me if she needed to castrate Edward for me, to which Edward cringed and I swear I saw him cup himself. I insisted over and over again that everything we had done was what I wanted, and that there was no need to maim Edward.

She let it drop when we arrived, but I sensed we still had some more things to talk about.

That brings us to now.

I was sitting on the kitchen island next to Alice, who kept swinging her legs back and forth, Rose was a few feet away standing at the counter making ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone. The boys were in the living room, having 'man to man time' (Emmett's words, not mine) with Riley, who thanks to Jasper, was tied up to a chair with some rather complicated knots. When I had first saw it, Jasper just said that he had _'training' _and left it at that. I wasn't going to press for more information after that.

Edward had closed the kitchen doors with a smile, saying that it might be a little while. I made sure that he understood that he was _not _to kill Riley. He grumbled for a minute, but eventually agreed, understanding that the whole reason we went through the trouble of getting him was so that we could return him to Renee and Phil in as close to one piece as possible.

So far we hadn't heard any screams, so I wasn't worrying too much….yet.

"So, you wanna tell us about what I walked in on back there?" Rose asked, slathering some bread with mayonnaise.

I blushed as I remembered what she was talking about. I could still feel the soft, warm velvet that was Edward's lips against mine. His body pressed lightly along mine as his hands ran across my torso, caressing my breast.

_Jesus, I was getting hot again just thinking about. Stop it Bella, focus. No more thinking of Edward's magic fingers and lips, they'll know and then they'll attack…_

"There's not really much to talk about. We were just kissing." I answered her, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Oh my god, you guys were kissing?" Alice questioned excitedly.

I shot Rose a dirty look, to which she just shrugged and smirked, and I turned to address Alice.

"Yes, Edward and I kissed… made out on the couch, whatever you want to call it. So?" I was a bit defensive and I didn't really get why.

"No need to put the gloves on, it's not bad sweetie, it's just we never thought that Edward would make out with someone on his couch." Alice explained, scrunching her nose up and cocking her head to the side. "That's very un-Edward like."

My curiosity was peaked. Edward didn't make out with women? Did he think he was like Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman or something?

"Why not?" I asked them.

"Edward's just not the making out kind of guy. More like the 'one night stand' guy." Rose said as she walked over and handed me a sandwich.

I looked down at it and thought about what Rose had said. If Edward preferred one night stands, why was he getting to second base with me on his couch? Was I supposed to be just another notch on his belt? Was I some kind of twisted challenge to him, or did he really care about me? This was so confusing.

Someone was tugging on a piece of my hair, getting my attention. I turned my head toward it; Alice.

"I see that look on your face and your wrong. You're not just another of Edwards conquests. He actually seems to have feelings for you, he may not admit to them, but they're there. He just has to pull his head out of his ass and tell you." Alice took a bite of her sandwich then went back to the magazine she was reading.

Rose smirked at Alice but didn't say anything to tell her she was full of it.

I didn't say anything, I couldn't even _think _of anything to say to that.

Instead I thought of how we were going to get Riley to go back home and never do anything this idiotic ever again. Edward and Emmett had suggested earlier that they beat it into him, but I had to say no to that, no matter how much the thought is appealing in the back of my mind, I just pushed it down.

Oh, I haven't talked about the 'problem' Rose had been yelling about. Let me explain.

Apparently, Emmett had tried to be nice and he untied Riley. Well, that didn't go so well for Riley. He had grabbed Alice and tried to use her as a hostage or something along those lines until he got off the island. Jasper didn't like that. That was when Rose ran out to get Edward and I, then we got there, Riley was tied up, and Alice was giggling and drooling over Jasper like she was a fourteen year old fangirl.

Riley was just as stupid as he looked, it was embarrassing really. I tried to apologize profusely to Alice and Jasper, but they wouldn't hear it, saying I wasn't responsible for what my dumbass step-brother did, but I felt like I was. It was because of me that he was here in the first place, but I have to admit, I didn't think he would try to take anyone hostage.

Edward came over to me and told me stop beating myself up about and forget it, flashing his crooked smile and brushing his thumb across my cheek. That made me forget everything, I swear to god I couldn't even recall my name for a few seconds.

Suddenly, I heard a yelp and thud from the other room, then I could hear Edward start shouting. I jumped from the counter and swung open the kitchen door that led to the living room.

Riley was still tied to the chair, but it had tipped over backwards so he was laying on the floor. He had blood coming out of his nose and was spewing profanities loudly, trying to breath properly as it was obviously broken. Edward was barely being held back by Emmett and Jasper, yelling at them to let him go so he could finish with Riley.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I head someone shout.

It was a mans voice, not a woman's voice, so I knew it wasn't Rose or Alice. The only three men were in the room already and none of them had spoken.

I turned to the other side of the room and saw a man. He looked no older than forty, tall, with light blonde hair and green eyes. Edwards green eyes.

I gasped as I realized that this man was Edwards father, and he had just walked in on his son trying to beat the hell out of Riley.

_Shit. _

**EPOV**

I was pissed off at this jerk in the first place for interrupting my time with Bella, which was going rather well if you ask me. But to try to take Alice as a hostage? Ha! I almost pissed myself laughing. Not only could Alice probably take him down herself, but there was no way in hell Jasper would have let him move an inch.

Jasper had been through military school as a teenager, thanks to his father, Peter, who was a hardcore military general. Jasper had spent four years there and picked up way more training than what was on the agenda.

I was just glad that he treated Alice right, because if he didn't and I tried to do something about it, he would most likely kill me.

The other reason I was pissed off was because this fucker couldn't seem to shut his mouth. No wonder he was so beat up already, Marcus probably couldn't stand his big mouth.

I was currently standing in front of Riley, my arms crossed over my chest, and he was talking abut how he was going to kill us to get revenge for doing this to him.

_Yeah sure, look who's tied to a chair fucker. Good luck on that revenge. _

Emmett, Jasper and I were trying to figure out what to do with him. Jasper was voting for just killing him. He was still a little mad about the whole thing with Alice. I told him that we couldn't kill Riley, as Bella requested, and gave me a dirty look, but made up for it by sitting silently next to Riley, staring him down and intimidating him. By the way Riley kept nervously glancing over at Jasper every few seconds and the beads of sweat rolling down his face, I would say his method of torture was working.

Emmett wanted to beat the hell out of him, just for what he did to Bella and I couldn't help but agree with him.

I was just enjoying watching the little worm squirm. But I couldn't help but ask _why_. Why would he do that to Bella? I understood from Bella that they weren't close, but still. I could never do that to Alice, even if we didn't like each other, I'd never do that to another human being. It was disgusting.

"Why did you do it? Were you truly _that _desperate?" I asked him.

He focused his attention on me, his eyes looking me up and down before scoffing.

"You think that you're all high and mighty, but wouldn't you do the same thing if it was your ass on line?" He asked me, obviously sure of my answer.

"No, I wouldn't." I stated.

His smirk faltered slightly.

"I would never do that to another person, no matter how much trouble I was in, I would suck it up and take whatever was coming to me." I continued.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be bitching too much. My so called 'fuck up' caused you to have your own little whore. She must be a pretty good fuck if she's got you running all over the place to get me back to Renee and Phil." He snickered.

Jasper sucked in his breath and I felt Emmett tense beside me, but I didn't care about them right now. All I saw was red. Riley was going to die. I didn't care that Bella wanted to return his pathetic ass to her parents, there wasn't going to be anything left to return after what he had just said to me about Bella.

That fucker does not call her a whore in front of me and live.

I drew my fist back and laid it into his face. I heard bone crack, his or mine I didn't know or care, and the chair he was tied to tipped backwards and crashed to the floor. Riley started screaming and cussing, swinging his head back and forth. I caught the sight of blood flowing steadily out his nose; I broke that fucker's nose. Good.

"Don't you ever call Bella that again! She's better than you could ever wish to be! You owe her your pathetic life you son of a bitch!" I screamed before I lunged for him, ready to beat him until he stopped breathing.

I felt hands gripping onto my arms and shoulders, holding me back. I was furious, trying to shake the hands off, I didn't know who they were, the only thing that was going through my mind was to kill the bastard for daring to say such things about Bella. About my angel.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Someone shouted. It managed to cut through the red that was clouding vision and my head, but only a little.

A second later I realized who it was; Carlisle.

Dammit, not what I needed right now.

I continued to struggle to get to Riley, ignoring my fathers presence.

"Edward stop!"

Those two words cut through me completely and I froze instantly only because of who spoke them.

_Bella_.

She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking shocked and confused.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I hadn't meant for her to see any of this.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't- I mean…" I trailed off. What the hell was I supposed to say to her to make something like this right?

I can't think of anything, so please share with the class if you do know.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Carlisle repeated.

Okay, I know that my father isn't stupid, and there's no way I can lie my way out of this.

I couldn't answer him right now though, he can figure it out.

"Edward, what were you doing?" Bella asked, standing tentatively in the doorway.

"I'm sorry Bella. No, wait… I'm not sorry, not really. He said some nasty things about you that made me really angry so I decked him." I explained, trying to get her to understand where I'm coming from here.

She stared at me for a couple of seconds, then her eyes darted down to Riley, who was still bleeding on the floor.

"What did he say about me?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest in a way that clearly said 'don't try to lie to me, and if you do, I'll know'.

"Bella, I don't think I should tell you that." I said.

"Tell me Edward." She demanded harshly.

_That's kinda hot. _

I huffed and ran my hand through my hair.

"He basically called you a whore and said that you must be… good… in bed if I went and got him from Marcus because you asked me to." I said, trying to cushion Riley's actual words.

Her face turned pink and I knew she was embarrassed, but there was something in her eyes. She looked extremely angry. I don't think I've ever seen Bella at that level of anger. He fists were clenched together and I could tell they were shaking slightly, and her jaw was grinding together.

"He said that, did he?" She almost growled.

I was a little scared; I didn't know if she was this angry at Riley or at me and from the looks of it, you didn't want to be on the receiving end of Bella's anger.

"Yes…" Before I could say anything else, Bella was striding past me to where Riley was.

She bent down next to him and looked him directly in the eyes.

"How dare you, you piece of shit. You have me sold as a sex slave, then when I come to save you, you say that you want Marcus to kill Edward, after we get you out of there, Edward risking his life, Emmett's and mine, you come into his house and try to take his sister as some sort of hostage. Then you say all those awful things about me, the only person in the entire world that tried to save your ass from numerous people and yourself. Do you know that I practically begged Edward _not _to kill you? Riley… you need to pull out the stick that's shoved up your ass and look around you and realize that there are actually people here that want to help you." She said to him calmly. I'm pretty sure that she would be less scary of she just yelled.

Riley seemed to think she was fucking scary too because he didn't say anything, just stared at her with wide eyes while still trying to breath through his mouth.

I glanced around the room at everyone; Jasper looked impressed and it's not an easy thing to accomplish, Rose was practically glowing, if she were a bird, I think she'd be fluffing her feathers, and Alice and Emmett were beside themselves with laughter at Riley, trying to hide it behind their hands.

I looked back at Carlisle to see an odd mix of amusement, confusion, disapproving and parental concern. I could tell I would have to explain some things.

Riley still hadn't said anything to Bella (most likely a very smart move on his part), so she stood up straight and turned on her heel, walking back into the kitchen and past everyone without a single word.

I looked around at everyone awkwardly, wondering if I should go after, let someone else go after her or just leave her alone so she could calm down.

My decision was made for me by Rose and Alice.

"Hello? Are you stupid? Go after her, make sure she's okay, if she needs anything you need to be there for her." Rose pushed, waving frantically toward the doorway where Bella just disappeared through.

Alice was vigorously nodding her head in agreement, looking expectantly at me. _I guess Rose covered it all. _

I rushed out of the room without another word, ignoring Carlisle completely, I'd come back to him later. Bella comes first.

She wasn't in the kitchen or the living room, so she must be outside.

I opened the front and peeked outside. There she was, sitting cross-legged a few yards away from the house in the sand. She looked so beautiful, just sitting on the beach, staring out a the ocean, watching tide come in and out. But there was something else there. She looked sad and…lonely?

That won't do at all.

I walked over to her slowly, not knowing if she was still mad or not. When I finally reached her, I sat down slowly beside her and didn't say anything. I thought it would be best if she initiated the conversation.

I hadn't been sitting there a minute when she started talking.

"I don't get it, why is he like that? What happened to do that to him?" She whispered, burying her face in her hands.

I didn't know what to say to her. What did have to happen to someone to make them so heartless and pathetic?

"Honestly Bella, I don't know. Some people are just born that way and other times, they're made to be like that. There's a lot of things that can make people act horribly, we may never know unless Riley wants us to know, and I don't think that he will." I said to her softly.

I watched her face carefully for any signs to see if I had upset her even more. It didn't seem like I did. She just continued to stare out at the water intently, a crease between her eyes.

"What are we going to do with him?" She asked. She was gnawing on her bottom lip so hard I was afraid that she was gonna bit it off, so I reached over and gently swept my thumb along it, making her teeth let it go.

I heard her gasp and I wondered briefly if I had upset her by doing it, we hadn't actually talked about our little foray on my couch, so I had no idea how she felt about what had happened and if I should be doing anything else of the sexual or romantic nature.

My fears however were tossed aside when Bella leaned over toward me and rested her head on my shoulder lightly.

"Thank you Edward." Bella whispered to me.

"For what, angel?" I asked, confused. What would she be thanking me for?

"For saving Riley for me, even if he wasn't worth saving." She answered.

"Bella, no matter how much of an asshole he is, he's important to your parents, isn't he?" She nodded so I continued. "And I know you well enough to realize that you have a very big heart Bella, and it doesn't matter to you if you hate him with every cell in your body, you still wanted to save him because he means something to people the people that you do love. And I would have done what I did over and over again, because it was something that mattered to you."

Bella raised watery eyes up to me and I panicked, thinking something I said was making her cry, when she almost lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face into my chest.

I froze, not knowing what to do, but when I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me, something about it seemed right, natural almost. I held her to me for minutes, hours, I didn't know, not saying anything, just taking comfort in each other.

What surprised me was that there was no sexual intentions in this anywhere. Now don't get me wrong, I definitely wanted that with Bella, not now of course, but I figured maybe eventually, if we took our relationship further and if she was ready. But what we were doing now, this wasn't about any of that, this was about comfort and understanding and….love?

Could it be love? Even if it was only in friendship? I don't know, do you love the beautiful girl that you bought, make friends with and then get to second base on a couch with?

_Oh Jesus I was starting to get a headache. _

My cell phone rang, bringing me out of my Bella Bubble. She moved away from me a little so I could reach into my pocket, but as soon as I had retrieved it, I pulled her back to me. Flipping it open, I looked at the caller I.D; Alice.

"Yeah Alice?" I answered, slightly annoyed that she had interrupted out 'moment'.

"Okay, so the two of you being all lovey-dovey on the beach is so fucking cute I don't know whether to barf or put it on a Hallmark card, but we still have a situation to deal with in here and you've been out there for almost an hour." She rattled off.

Shit, I forgot that they could see us through the kitchen window.

"Uh yeah, we'll be back in in a couple minutes." I said, hanging up and not bothering to wait for a response from her. Alice hated when I did that, so I did it just to annoy the little pixie now. Childish, I know.

"Bella, we need to go back inside." I whispered, nudging her arm gently.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She mumbled, moving away from me.

"Don't be sorry, I'd be more than happy to stay out here all night long if Alice wasn't so impatient." I reassured her with a smile.

I got up from the ground, brushing the sand off and reached down, pulling her up.

I placed my hand on the lower part of her back and walked back to the house, opening the door and motioning for her to go first. The entire time, I noticed that she was blushing something fierce. I thought it was fucking adorable and struggled with keeping from grinning too widely.

I shut the door behind us and was met with the sight of my father standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest, obviously waiting for an explanation.

_At least he didn't look angry, _I thought.

"Son, would you mind explaining a few things to me?" He asked neutrally. I hated when he did that, I never knew if I was in trouble or not.

I could hear Emmett cackling in the other room and I frowned. I was not amused.

"I know that this looks bad, but it's not really all _that _bad." I started off.

"Oh? _Not that bad? _Then why did your Uncle Aro call a little while ago to inform me that there was a witness to you killing his brother-in-law?"

_Uhhh… What? _

* * *

**Oooooh….**

**Push that little review button and tell me. Don't be afraid, I won't bite. But Edward might…**


	12. Chapter 12

**BPOV**

What?

_Oh my god. _

From what I was getting, Marcus had been Edward's uncles' brother-in-law? Confusing, yes, but it was still big.

By the look on Edwards face, I was pretty sure that he didn't even know who Marcus had been in relation to his family.

"I-I didn't know…" Edward mumbled, more to himself than his father.

"So it is true." His father said. I really wish I knew his name.

"Yes, it is true, but I don't regret it. He would have killed us if I hadn't of done it first." Edward defended himself.

"I highly doubt that Edward, Marcus isn't capable of killing someone. I know he participates in a few….illegal activities, but killing people? I don't think so Edward." His father said, crossing his arms back over his chest and shaking his head.

I looked to Edward and saw that he had clenched his fists together and they were shaking rather violently.

I could see this going in a horrible direction, should I intervene? I didn't want Edward and his father to get into a fight because of my desire to save a bastard who didn't deserve to be saved in the first place.

"Wait! It's not Edward's fault, it's mine." I blurted out loudly. I cringed back when everyone's head snapped toward me.

"Bella… It's not your fault. We've already talked about this." Edward said, taking a step to me. I held my hand up for him to stop and he froze. I felt bad because of the wounded look on his face, but I held back, needing to explain things to his father.

"Sir, it's not Edward's fault. You see, it's rather complicated." I started off.

"You can call me Carlisle, dear. 'Sir' makes me feel about twenty years older than I am." He interrupted me with a slight smile.

I nodded, telling him that I understood and continued.

"See, it's a long story, but basically, I had gotten into… some trouble and Edward saved me. Then we found out that Marcus was holding my step-brother sort of hostage, I guess you could call it and I convinced Edward to help with getting him back so that he could go back to our parents. I never wanted anyone to die, but Marcus made Edward play a game of Russian Roulette with him and _thank god _that Edward won. But Edward was telling the truth, I'm firmly convinced that Marcus would have shot us out just of spite. Please, please don't blame Edward, he was just protecting us and I got us into it in the first place. I'm so sorry Carlisle." I rambled on and on, seeming to not have control over my mouth.

I was not going to allow Edward to take the full amount of blame for something that was my idea in the first place.

Carlisle stared at me intently for a few moments, then turned to Edward slowly.

"Edward, please don't tell me that Marcus is the one who took Bella." He asked quietly, pinching his nose between his pointer and forefinger. Something that I noticed Edward did as well.

Wait… I went back through what Carlisle had just said.

How did he know that I was taken?

Edward must have seen the confusion on my face, because he answered my unspoken question before Carlisle's.

"Carlisle, as you already know, is a doctor. When we got back to the island, you were unconscious and I had Em call Carlisle so he could come check you over. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright, Bella. I didn't know what they had done to you." Edward explained, sounding desperate for me to understand.

It was like he expected me to be upset that he wanted to make sure I was alright.

"Thank you." I said simply.

Edward immediately relaxed, his shoulders loosening and his crooked smile gracing his face.

"I was afraid you'd be mad or something." He admitted.

I shook my head, "I'm not mad, I think that it's very sweet of you to have called a doctor to check to see if I was okay, even if he is your father."

Satisfied that I wasn't angry at him, he turned back to his father to answer his question.

"Marcus didn't take Bella himself, but he did play a major part in it. He was in charge of the people that did take Bella and sold her." Edward explained.

Carlisle exhaled deeply and shook his head in disbelief and disgust.

"Didn't you know that Marcus was apart of the Brazilian Mob?" Edward asked.

"No, I didn't. I don't think that even Aro knows about it. I can't believe this….." He trailed off, slowly walking over to a chair and sitting down. He buried his face in his hands and stayed silent.

"Carlisle, you said that there was a witness…who saw me there?" Edward asked him.

Carlisle sighed before answering.

"Yes, a man named James Tracker called Aro a while ago saying that he had seen you walking through a hallway with Marcus and another man that was tied up, holding a gun to Marcus's head. James also said that he saw you shoot Marcus before entering the lobby area of the building and then leave with the tied man, whom I assume now is Bella's step-brother." Carlisle said, his face not leaving his hands.

"That son of a bitch!" Edward yelled.

I jumped and took an automatic step away from him, bumping into Alice.

"No way!" Emmett yelled from the other room. The next second he came around the corner with a look of shock on his face. "Wasn't that the guy that you were going after when you found Bella?"

Edward just nodded, he looked like he was past words. I was getting a little worried.

I wanted to ask what they were talking about, but thought better of it when I saw the look on Edward's face, I decided that it could wait.

"I can't believe he was still there after all that time. I forgot about him because of Bella, but I figured that he would just leave. I didn't think he would stay there." Edward muttered angrily.

He kept running his hand through his hair and tugging at the ends. If he didn't stop, he was going to go prematurely bald.

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked from behind me.

After a few minutes, when Edward didn't answer her, Emmett jumped in.

"The whole reason that Edward was even in the building that, um… Bella was in _that _night was because he followed James in there because he had stolen some money from the company. Edward was tracking him down and he happened across Bella and forgot all about James." Emmett explained to everyone.

Oh. So that's why Edward was there. I was wondering what he was doing in a place like that in the first place, but I had never asked, fearing his answer. I breathed an internal sigh of relief that he had been there with good reason.

"Great, so now there's some asshat out there that already doesn't like Edward very much, if you were to judge from his sticky fingers with your companies money, now he's seen you kill someone. Fucking fantastic, Edward. Real smooth." Rose ranted at him.

He turned on her suddenly, shooting daggers at her.

"It's not like I knew he was there, Rosalie. If I did, I probably would have killed him right along with Marcus. And your bitching won't help anything, so you can stop." Edward growled at her.

Rose glared right back at him, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

_I can never call Rose a dumb blonde. _

There was a few minutes of awkward silence, Edward pacing the floor and almost tearing his hair out the whole time.

_I really wanted to stop him from doing that, his hair never did anything wrong. _

"What do you think we should do about it?" Emmett spoke up from the other side of the room. I could swear that he took a step back when he said that.

Edward stopped his pacing and rubbed his hands up and down his face roughly, thinking.

"We've got to find James. If he's already called Aro, what's stopping him from calling a hundred other people?" Carlisle said.

"That's the thing though, James had only called Aro, right?" Edward asked Carlisle.

He nodded, telling Edward he was right.

"Then he must want something." Edward said.

We all looked at him oddly, so he explained. "If he hasn't told anyone else, called the cops, anything, that means that he's panning something."

"You have a very plausible point, Edward. But what does he want?" Carlisle asked.

None of us had an answer for that.

~*~*~*~**SIL**~*~*~*~

Carlisle had left a few minutes ago, saying that despite the circumstances, it was very nice to meet me and he was glad I was alright considering everything that had happened.

I blushed and said it was nice to meet him as well, shaking his hand. Then he pulled Edward and Emmett aside, had a short, hushed conversation and then left, saying goodbye to everyone else.

Emmett and Jasper had gone back into the room that Riley was in to keep a watch on him, leaving me, Alice, Rose and Edward in the living room.

We'd been sitting in silence ever since Carlisle left, with the occasional grunts and screams of threats from Riley in the other room, but we ignored him.

I'm starting to really worry about Edward, he keeps fidgeting and mumbling to himself. It's nerve-racking.

I decide that enough is enough and lean into Alice's ear.

"Do you think I should just take him home?" I whisper to her.

She looks at him closely, like she's examining him, before she turns back to me and nods her head.

"I think he'll be fine, he just needs some time to sort things out in his head. Go ahead and take him home and just put the TV on for some background noise." She whispered back.

I started to get up from the couch, but Alice's little hand reached out an wrapped around my wrist, stopping me, and pulls me back to her. Jeez she's strong.

"Maybe you could… distract him." She whispered conspiratorially in my ear.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She gave me a meaningful look then glanced toward Edward and I realized what she was talking about.

_She wanted me to distract Edward… sexually! _

"Alice! Are you telling me to sleep with your brother?" I whisper in disbelief.

"No! Not have sex with him. Just, like second or third base, that's all." She reassured me. If you could call it reassuring.

"Goodbye Alice. I'll talk to you later." I said, dismissing her ideas.

I walked over to Edward tentatively, not completely sure of what I was dealing with here.

"Edward…." I trailed off softly.

He looked up, the first time in almost fifteen minutes. His eyes came into focus as he looked up at me from his chair.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Do you want to go home? You could… I don't maybe take a shower or something. Relax?" I said, unsure.

Would he even want to go home? Would he want me to stay here so that he'd have some time to himself? Did he not want me anywhere near him while he was 'processing' this?

"Sure, yeah, umm… we better leave." He muttered, standing up in front of me.

I felt bad, Edward seemed so out of it. And of course, he wouldn't say anything about it, choosing instead to internalize everything, so everyone around him was forced to guess what was going through his head. So I had no idea how we could help.

I waved goodbye to Alice and Rose and followed Edward out the door. I was surprised to see that it was dark outside by now, I had lost track of time. By now it must be well past eleven o'clock. The walk back to Edwards' house was quiet (surprise, surprise), but I stayed close to him, not used to the island at nighttime. What had been beautiful, colorful and mesmerizing in the sunlight suddenly became mysterious, dark and unknown. It almost felt like eyes were on me and it caused chills to run up my spine.

Edward must have sensed my uneasiness, because he reached over and took my hand, enveloping it in his much larger one, and tugged me gently into his side. His thumb making soothing circles in the back of my hand.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to, what he was doing was enough to calm me.

Edward pulled me into his house, then shutting the door, released my hand and walked over to the couch.

I stood awkwardly in the entryway, not knowing what I should do. He looked like he wanted some space, so I figured that I'd go ahead and give it to him. I started to walk around the couch quietly to the other side of the living room so I could go into the bedroom. I made it past him without him noticing and into the room, shutting the door softly behind me.

**EPOV**

I needed to fix this and fast.

James wanted something, that was the only reason I could think of for why he wasn't calling everyone he could to rat us out. I just couldn't think of anything he might want.

Was he planning on trying to blackmail me? Does he actually think that he can get away with it? James isn't very smart, so he's probably not even thinking this through all the way. I wasn't too worried about myself, I was more concerned for Bella. He told Aro that he saw me shoot Marcus and drag Riley out, but had he seen Bella? James was there the night she was sold, had he recognized her? He's got another thing coming if he thinks he can go after Bella. I'll kill him with my bare hands before he can even get close.

I'd been thinking this over for a while now, only stopping when Bella got up and asked if we could leave Em and Rose's house.

I couldn't speak to her, afraid that she'd be angry or upset at me for putting us at risk like this, for being so sloppy and not seeing James. Hell, I was pissed at myself for not seeing him, I wouldn't blame her if she went off on me.

I'd faintly heard her walking into my room and shutting the door, but I didn't say anything to her.

After a few minutes, I got up and went to the guest room to take a shower.

The shower managed to relax me a little, but it didn't do anything for my head. I was still going through everything, trying to figure out how I was going to fix this.

After I slipped on a pair of sweatpants, I shut off the lights and climbed into bed. Hoping to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

An hour later after laying in bed staring at the ceiling, I still couldn't get to sleep, so I sat up and rubbed my face.

_Bella_.

I have to talk to Bella. I felt bad about pretty much ignoring her this entire time. I had basically been a total douche to her.

I wondered if she was even still awake.

I slipped out of bed and walked down the hallway and the staircase, finally coming to a stop at Bella's doorway. Well, technically, it's my doorway, but I'd give this up to Bella if she liked it enough.

_Jesus, I'm whipped. _

I pushed the door open slowly and peeked inside. It was completely dark so it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, when they did, I spotted Bella laying on the bed already asleep.

I sighed, I didn't want to wake her up, it could wait until morning.

I began to shut the door when I heard her soft voice ring out across the room.

"Edward?" Sleep filled her voice heavily, making me curse myself for waking her up.

"I'm sorry I woke you up Bella. Just go back to sleep." I told her.

"No, you came in here for a reason, what is it?" Bella asked and sat up in bed, reaching over to turn the bedside lamp on.

Hesitating at the doorway, I walked into the room to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

"I… I just wanted to talk to you and apologize for the way I acted earlier. I shouldn't have ignored you. I just have this habit of shutting everything and everyone around me out when I'm thinking something serious over." I apologized.

Bella smiled at me. "Edward, it's okay. I wasn't mad at you, I figured that you needed space. That's why I came in here; to give you some space. I didn't think that you'd want me around while you were processing things." She told me.

I blinked at her stupidly.

"I thought that you wanted to get away from my dumb ass." I whispered.

Bella smiled and shook her head.

I breathed out, relieved that she wasn't upset with me. For some reason, just the thought of Bella being angry at me made my chest constrict.

"Uhhh… Edward, can I ask you a question?" She looked at me through guilty eyes.

"Of course you can, what is it?" I asked her.

"This your room, isn't it?" She whispered, chewing on her lip.

I chuckled at her, by the expression on her face, you would think she had just stolen my car or something.

"Yes it is, but I don't mind if you use it Bella, if I didn't want you in here, I would have put you in the guest room." I explained to her after my laughing calmed.

"I can move into the guest room so you can have you're room back. I can't stay here for a whole six months." She said.

I huffed, I understood that she couldn't stay in my room the entire time she stayed here, but I liked the idea of Bella sleeping in my bed. Maybe sleeping in it with me…..

Stop it!

"I'll tell you what, you can stay in here until the guest room is ready for you to move in. I'm sure that Alice and Rose will want to fill your closet and you'll need to get some other things. You can redecorate if you want to, the room is kind of plain." I said.

She nodded her head in agreement after a few seconds, obviously reluctant to take my room from me for a few more days.

"Well, I'll go back to my room, you should get back to sleep." I said as I stood up from the bed.

"No!" She exclaimed, reaching out to grab my hand. She blushed and pulled her hand back, looking down at her lap.

"What?" I asked gently.

"It's just… I can't sleep, I keep having nightmares." She whispered.

My chest constricted at her words. Her nightmares were _my _fault. She was scared because of the things I had put her through. Without thinking, sat down next to her on the bed and gathered her together in my arms.

"I'm sorry Bella. Is there anything I can do? Just name it and I'll do it." I said.

"Could you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?" She requested. It was so quiet I had to stain to hear her.

Wordlessly, I laid down over the covers, bringing her down to lay next to me. She curled up beside me under the covers, gingerly resting her head on my shoulder.

Something about this felt completely and totally right. I didn't think before I stretched down and kissed her forehead. I froze after I did it, not knowing if she was okay with me doing something even simple as that.

When Bella didn't say anything or react negatively after a few seconds, I relaxed. I realized that she was laughing under her breath.

"What are you giggling about?" I asked playfully.

"You're overreaction." She said through giggles.

I frowned at her.

"Edward, you can kiss me without having to worry about me flipping out." She said.

"I know that, I just don't want you to-" I started.

She cut me off rather efficiently when she pulled herself up even to me and planted her lips on mine.

"I'm not a porcelain doll, Edward. I won't break." She whispered to me.

"I know that, I just…" I trailed off, not knowing how to explain this.

"What?" She asked.

I sighed. "I don't want you to think this is the only reason that I like you. We're making out and sleeping in the same bed and I haven't even asked you out on a date yet." I mumbled.

"You like me?" She asked.

Of course that's the only thing that stands out to her.

"Of course I like you Bella. What gave you the impression that I don't?" I asked in disbelief.

She looked down and shrugged.

"You never said anything, so I just didn't think that you like me." She said quietly.

I could have smacked myself. I thought that I had been rather obvious, but it seemed that Bella didn't think so.

I was going to have to fix this.

I looked into her chocolate eyes and grasped her chin lightly in my hand.

"Isabella Swan, I really, really like you. I'd like to show you just how much I like you by taking you out on a date this weekend. Will you go out with me?" I'd never been so nervous in my entire life. It felt like my heart was up in my throat, my palms were clammy and the thought went through my head that maybe she didn't feel anything for me. She had just asked if I liked her, she didn't say whether or not she liked me back.

Shit, I wish she'd just say something and put me out of my misery.

"Yes." I heard her say.

I had to do a double take.

"What?" I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly.

"Yes, I'll go out with you." She clarified through a smile.

I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding and crushed her to my chest in relief.

"Thank you, angel." I said.

She laughed I thought it was the best sound on earth.

"Oh yeah, because you getting a date is so hard, I'm doing you such a big favor." She said sarcastically.

"You are doing me a favor Bella. You're doing me the biggest favor I could ask for; you're given me a chance, even after everything you've been through." I was being so sappy, I know, but Bella seemed to bring it out in me, so I went with it.

She smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Now that we cleared things up, will you actually kiss me without worrying if I'm going to punch you in the face?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"All you had to do was as, angel." I whispered, leaning in and pressing my lips to hers.

She sighed into my mouth and tightened her grip around my neck. I slipped my tongue out, sliding it along her plump bottom lip, asking for entry, which she granted immediately.

Fuck she tastes so good.

Without thinking, I reached up and grasped her breast in my hand. I tensed momentarily until she pushed herself into my hand.

We continued n for what felt like hours, her tongue wound tentatively slid into my mouth and trace along my teeth and the roof of my mouth and I'd do the same. Kissing along her neck and shoulder only when we needed to breathe, her breathy moans and whimpers of my name driving me on.

My hands seemed to have a mind of their own, moving along her entire body and I realized that she was only wearing a pink lacy bra and underwear set.

I nearly came in my sweatpants when she pressed her bare thigh against the rather prominent bulge that my dick was making and rubbing up and down. I had to keep thinking about Emmett wearing nothing but his cooking apron.

Ahhh…yeah, that did the trick.

I thought I'd try something, but I'd have to go slow, not sure if Bella was ready to take our physical relationship farther.

Starting from her naked shoulder, I caressed down her arm, over her hip and grazed my fingertips across her flat stomach, skimming the edge of her lacy underwear.

She sucked in a surprised breath and pulled away from my lips slightly, her face flushed and panting.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked. In my head I was praying that she wanted to keep going. I wanted to do this for her, I wanted to show her how amazing it could be.

"I… I don't know. I'm nervous, I've never done anything like that before." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"It's your decision Bella, just know that I would never hurt you, it'll feel really good." I promised her.

She thought about it for a few moments.

"You'll be gentle?" She questioned softly.

"Of course, angel." I reassured her firmly.

"Okay." She said confidently.

I pecked her on the lips and made sure I was looking into her eyes, trying to convey that I would never hurt her and reached down, gently pushing her thighs open enough for my hand.

I fingered the band of her underwear for a moment, allowing her time to relax. I didn't want her to feel nervous or worried, I wanted her to enjoy this more than anything.

After she was seemed relaxed, I slipped a finger into her underwear and her breath caught in her throat.

"Is this okay?" I asked softly.

She bit into her lip and nodded for me to continue, so I let my fingers go on with their exploration. I brushed past her silk curls and slowly delved my fingertip between her folds.

_Christ, she's so wet and soft. _I couldn't stop the groan that came from the back of my throat.

Bella gasped and flexed her fingers, digging into my shoulder. I moved down further into her heat until I brushed her clit, making her suck in a breath and moan.

"Does that feel good angel?" I asked.

"Yes." She breathed out.

I moved my fingertips over her clit again, putting more pressure down this time, her own fingers flexing on my shoulder in time with mine.

I began moving my fingers over her continuously in a tight circle. Bella's face getting pinker and pinker by the second, her breath becoming shallower and quicker, little sounds escaping her lips.

I couldn't resist leaning down over her and kissing up and down her neck, sucking gently here and there, leaving a wet trail behind. Her hand moved from my shoulder up to my hair, twinning her fingers through it.

"Edward…" She moaned softly in my ear.

Hearing my name fall from her lips like that made me so much harder than I already was, almost to the point of pain.

"You feel so good angel." I whispered lowly, unable to help myself.

She moaned again and buried her face in my shoulder.

After a few minutes of circling her clit with my forefinger, I slowly worked my way to her opening, sliding one finger into her, testing.

_Jesus she was so fucking tight. _

If she was this tight around just one of my fingers, I didn't want to think about what she'd feel around my cock. It would most likely be painful for her the first few times and I mentally cringed at the thought of hurting her just so I could feel good. Although, it wouldn't just be me who would feel pleasure, it just might take a while for her. And another part of me wanted more than anything to be inside of her.

"Edward." Bella panted, but I could hear the undertone of nervousness in her voice.

Shit, I just stuck my finger in her and then zoned out, thinking about sticking my dick in her while she's laying here nervous.

I'm such an ass sometimes.

"It's okay baby. Do you want me to stop, did I hurt you?" I asked, worried if I had hurt her when I was daydreaming.

"No, you didn't hurt me, I was just surprised." She said.

I smiled and pumped my finger into her again, watching her eyes widen and her lips part.

"You like that?" I asked.

She nodded her head vigorously as her hips rolled up into my hand.

I pumped my finger in and out, watching her face contort in pleasure, occasionally dipping down to kiss her lips, capturing her moans in my mouth.

I felt her start to pulse around my finger and her back arched off the bed. To push her over the edge, I circled her clit again with my thumb. It only took about ten more seconds before she came, calling out my name into my shoulder, convulsing around my finger. Her thighs clamped together, trapping my hand between them, buried in her wet heat. _Not that I minded one fucking bit._

God, the sight and sound of her coming was the best thing in the world.

After she calmed down, her legs relaxed and I pulled my hand away, sliding my finger out gently, making her whimper. I showered her face in kisses, silently thanking her for giving this to me.

"Are you okay, angel?" I asked. I think I'd shoot myself if she told me I'd hurt her.

She nodded her head and mumbled that she was perfect. I smiled and kissed her lips.

"I'm guessing that you liked it, then?" I asked, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." She said shyly.

Amazing; she comes on my fingers, then she's shy about saying that she enjoyed it.

"You don't have to be shy about it. That was beautiful and I love seeing you like that and making you feel good." I said.

She buried her face in my chest. "It was wonderful, I've heard people talk about sex and stuff, but I never thought it would be like that. Thank you Edward." She told me.

"Trust me when I say it was my pleasure angel." I chuckled.

She giggled and I noticed that her eyelids were starting to flutter shut.

"Sleep angel, we'll talk more in the morning." I said, wrapping her up in my arms. Bella murmured a good night and a minute later her breathing evened out.

I fell asleep shortly after Bella, not thinking about any of our problems, because all that mattered was that I had Bella in my arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**BPOV**

My eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing the blinding sunlight streaming through the window. I winced away from it and buried my face into a bare, warm, manly chest.

Wait a second…

I opened my eyes again and looked up into the sleeping face of Edward. The previous night flashed before my eyes and I blushed, tucking my head back into his chest.

Edwards magic hands and lips roaming my body… making me feel things I'd never felt in my life. Things I didn't think were really possible.

A pleasurable shiver ran down my spine as I thought of it.

My eyes wandered over Edwards sleeping form. He looked so peaceful, his face completely relaxed.

I couldn't help reaching up to lightly glide my fingertips over his jaw line, down along his neck to stop at his chest. I stopped because I wasn't sure if I should go any lower.

_Well, he did just finger me a few hours ago, why can't I touch his abs? _

I hesitated only another second before my fingers resumed their exploration of Edwards muscles. They seemed to ripple under my fingers and a thrill went through me. I skimmed down his abs one by one, counting silently as I went.

_One, two, three, four, five, six. _

Edward had a six pack. A very impressive six pack, if I might add. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he went to the gym a lot, or if it was just everyday basic work that kept up his muscles.

My fingers stopped at the band of his sweatpants and traveled back up. I wasn't going to go into….southern territory yet, especially when he wasn't even awake.

My hand paused on his chest and I rested it there, gently playing with the light hair he had there.

I thought about what happened last night. Will Edward act any differently now that we had been more sexual with each other? Would he want to do more? I don't think so, Edward doesn't seem like he would be like that. I'm pretty sure that he would respect my boundaries and not push, but I never really knew what Edward would do next and this was no different.

I would just have to trust him and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could trust Edward with my life. I already trusted him with my life, surely I could trust him with this.

And he asked me out on a date! I've never been a real 'girly girl', never getting why girls got excited about those kinds of things. But when Edward asked me to go out on a date with him, I had to bite my lip to keep from squealing like a fourteen year old girl in front of her favorite pop star.

The look on Edwards face before I said yes was priceless, it was a mix of anxiety and excitement. It was like he was worried I would tell him no, completely ridiculous. What girl in their right mind would say no to a date with Edward Cullen?

Then my thoughts turned to a darker subject. What was with this guy James? Was he really _that _dangerous? Edward seemed extremely agitated at even the mention of his name and that concerned me. If Edward was worried about James this much, surely he must be someone dangerous, right? He hadn't been afraid of Marcus at all, and he was a mob boss.

All of this was so confusing, I didn't even know what to do anymore.

My thoughts cut off when I caught notice of Edwards' hand slowly running up and down my arm, caressing. Was he awake now?

I turned my face up and saw his emerald eyes looking down at me sleepily.

"How long have you been awake angel?" He asked.

"Only a few minutes." I whispered back.

He lifted his hand up to brush against my cheek and I felt myself blush in response.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Edward asked, I could here the nervousness in his voice and I smiled.

Even after what happened last night, he was still Edward. I was being so stupid thinking things would change.

"Yeah, I'm perfect Edward." I assured him.

"Good, I was worried that things would be weird now." He said, his eyebrows coming together worriedly.

Before I could say anything in reply, my stomach growled embarrassingly loud and I blushed.

"I'm guessing we should get up and get some breakfast. I'll get started." Edward laughed.

He pulled me up with him to sit up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up and striding toward the door. I watched him walk, unable to tear my eyes away from his butt.

Oh god that's a really great ass. It was perfectly rounded and I could see dimples peaking out the band of his sweatpants.

I didn't think guys could have nice butts, but Edward proved me wrong.

He turned around at the last second and caught me staring. My eyes widened and I blushed as I looked away quickly, but it was too late.

"Like what you see, angel?" He teased me lightly.

"It's alright." I said simply.

He gasped and a fake look of hurt washed across his face.

"Well then, maybe I'll have to give you a close up look later so you can reevaluate you opinion." He said.

I blushed an even deeper red at the meaning behind his comment and turned my head away.

"Bella, I didn't mean it like-" Edward started, but I interrupted him.

"It's fine Edward, I know you were just teasing me. Go, I'll be out in a minute." I shooed him away.

He looked like he still wanted to say something, but turned around and walked out instead.

I got up, realizing that I was still only wearing the panty set Rose gave to me, saying she had just bought it a few days prior and hadn't even worn it yet, and looked around for something that I could put on. Now I'm sure Edward wouldn't mind if I walked around in my underwear, but I'm not sure I should start doing that before the first date.

_What are you talking about, you just let him finger you last night, and now you won't walk around in your underwear? Ha. _

I ignored that thought and shoved it to the back of my head, focusing on finding clothes.

I picked up a white button up shirt that was laying across one of the chairs and pulled it on, leaving only the top two buttons undone.

After I went to the bathroom and brushed my hair out as best I could (I really need to take a shower ASAP), I made my way to the kitchen, dreading the mess that would be awaiting me.

Edward was good at a lot of things, but cooking was not one of them.

Thankfully, he hadn't started anything yet, only pulled out a few things and had laid them across the counter.

"What would you like to eat?" He asked, not looking up yet.

"Maybe I should cook something this morning." I said, trying to ease into this. I didn't want to offend him by just outright saying he sucked at cooking.

He finally looked up at me and his mouth hung open as he stared at me.

"Edward, is something wrong?" I asked.

I started to worry when after a full minute he didn't answer me, just kept staring at me.

"Edward?" I asked again.

Instead of answering me, he started to walk toward me slowly, never taking his eyes off me, only stopping when he was less than a foot away from me.

"Bella, would you be uncomfortable if I kissed you right now?" He asked quietly.

"No, you can kiss me Edward, it's fine." I told him.

He smiled at me, reached up to hold my face between his hands and leaned down to press his lips against mine, sliding his tongue out to glide along my bottom lip. I opened to him almost immediately, letting his tongue in to flick against mine.

I groaned into his mouth and reached up to grip the tops of his arms, holding onto his for balance.

His hands moved from my face down to my shoulders, sliding down my arms until he reached my hips. I could feel the heat from his hands radiating through the shirt as he held onto my hips. He pull me closer to him, I could feel his erection against my stomach.

He released my lips, but his mouth never left my skin as he kissed along my cheek and down my jaw line.

Edward gripped my hips firmly and lifted me up. I gasped and wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me across the kitchen, gently setting me on the granite countertop of the island.

"What brought this on?" I asked breathlessly.

"Seeing you in my shirt like that is just… You look so sexy in it, I can't help myself." He said deeply, brushing my hair behind my ear and placing a light kiss on my lips.

I bit my lip. Edward thought that I looked sexy in his shirt? That gave my confidence a huge boost.

Without giving it a second thought, I reached up and twined my fingers through Edwards' hair and pulled his face down to mine, kissing him rather aggressively.

He startled for a moment, but relaxed and worked his lips against mine just as forcefully.

For minutes we were nothing but groping hands and panting, heated kisses.

My hands wandered over his bare chest as his lips covered my neck in wet kisses. I moaned out loud and unconsciously tightened my legs around his waist, bringing him closer to me.

"Do you want me to stop, angel?" He asked huskily. I shivered at the tone and shook my head, not wanting him to stop creating the sensations in my body.

Instead of answering me, his lips traveled further down to my collarbone, sucking gently, making me moan his name into his hair. He kept going until he reached the space in between my breasts, laying a wet, opened mouth kiss there and unbuttoning the top button of the shirt to gain better access.

Edward pulled the shirt apart, revealing my pink bra and he groaned as he rested his forehead against my collarbone. He seemed to be trying to hold himself back, but I found that I didn't want him to hold back. I knew he would never hurt me and I was curious about what he would do.

I reached down, pulling his face up to mine. I looked into his eyes and saw lust there, but I also saw acceptance and understanding, thinking that the reason why I pulled his face away was because I wanted him to stop.

"You don't have to hold back, Edward. It's okay, I'm not uncomfortable. If I want you to stop, I'll tell you." I said to him, rubbing my fingers against his cheeks.

He rested his forehead against mine for a moment, staring into my eyes. He must have found something in them that he liked, because he leaned back down toward my chest and began kissing along the top line of my bra cup.

My fingers kept a hold in his hair as my breath comes out in short pants.

I felt his hands reach into the open shirt and caress along my ribs cage, moving slowly around to my back.

Edward moved back up to my face, kissing my lips gently before drawing back to look at me.

"Bella, can I take your bra off?" He asked me gently.

I paused, thinking about his question for a second.

Did I want him to take off my bra?

_Yes. _

I knew if he did, this would get so much better. I was surprised that I couldn't get enough of Edward now. A couple days ago, I was afraid to let him touch me. Now we were making out on his kitchen counter in next to nothing.

_And I wanted more. _

"Yes." I whispered to him.

He didn't hesitate as he reached up and clumsily unclasped my bra. I couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm, it was kinda cute. He noticed my laughter and his hands froze.

"Do you want some help?" I asked, trying not to laugh too much.

Edward pulled back a little and saw that he was blushing and that only make me giggle harder. I never thought I'd see Edward blush!

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, looking extremely embarrassed.

"It's okay Edward, you don't have to rush. I'm pretty sure my boobs will still be there if you take a few extra seconds." I teased.

He laughed and went back to my bra clasp, unclasping it more slowly this time.

Edward placed kisses along my neck as he slid the shirt off my shoulders and down my arms, then made my bra follow. The shirt scrunched up along my hips and my bra slid down my arms onto the floor between me and Edward.

I expected him to go directly for my breasts, but he surprised me by continuing kissing along my jaw.

I was panting and moaning by the time he worked his way down my neck and finally focused on my breasts.

When he did nothing but stare for a few moments, my insecurities got the best of me and I covered my breasts with my arms and looked off to the side.

"Hey." Edward said softly as he took my face in his hands, turning me back to him.

"Don't be embarrassed, you're beautiful angel. You don't ever have to hide any part of yourself from me." He whispered.

I lowered my arms slowly, bringing them to rest at my sides.

Edward didn't break eye contact with me as his hands brushed down my face, neck, and over my shoulders, stopping just above my breasts.

I shivered and it had nothing to with being cold.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Edward asked.

I nodded my head and bit my lip, waiting for what he'd do next.

His eyes moved down my body gradually and stopped at my breasts. He breathed in and I heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded like _'perfect'_, but I wasn't positive.

Edward's arms wrapped around me and his head bent down slowly, I felt his lips ghost over the top of my right breast and down a little to my nipple, taking it into his mouth. I was engulfed in the heat and moisture of his mouth and I gasped as he sucked gently.

It felt like there was a direct line from my nipple to my core as something familiar to an electric current ran through my body.

"Oh god…" I moaned.

Edward sucked harder and I felt his tongue flick over my nipple. I tightened my hold on his hair and pushed my chest unashamedly into his mouth. Edward hummed and the vibrations radiated throughout my body and it was the best feeling. I tilted my head back and moaned, biting my lip to stop anymore sounds from coming out.

He was making the most amazing feelings course through my body, but I wasn't doing anything for him in return and I felt a little bad about. So I decided to try something.

I untangled my fingers from the copper mess on his head and ran my hand down the back of his neck, down his shoulder and rested on his left peck.

Cautiously, I flicked my thumb across his nipple and he sucked in a breath and released it with a groan.

"Fuck Bella." He mumbled around my breast.

_I guess he likes it. _

I did it again and he groaned and moved to my other breast, sucking my left nipple into his mouth, making me let out a mewl from the back of my throat.

_Oh that feels so fucking good. _

He took hold of my thighs and pulled me flush against him, so I could feel his erection pressed against me through my underwear.

I gasped and ground my hips against his, making him grunt against my chest and buck back into me.

"Oh Bella." He groaned as he continued to move his hips, grinding his erection into my core.

I could feel wetness gathering in my underwear and I began to ache, reminding me of how I felt last night when his fingers were working me.

"Edward…" I panted desperately. I wanted…needed more, but I didn't know how to ask him for it. Whether I was just at a loss for words right now or was too embarrassed. In the back of my mind, I was sure that it was a little bit of both.

"Do you want more Bella?" He whispered.

"Please….Edward." I nearly whined.

"Okay angel, don't worry, I'll make it better." He murmured into my neck.

I locked my legs around his waist and he moved away from my breasts. I was about to protest when the fingers of his right hand wove into my hair and he pulled me to his lips, almost devouring my mouth with his intensity.

He pushed his hips into me and I whimpered in the back of my throat from the sensation it caused. Edward kept up his motions, earning a new sound from me each time.

"Fuck, Bella….ugh…" He moaned into my throat.

I held onto his shoulders firmly, kneading into his flesh. I was sure that more than once my fingernails had dug into his skin, but he didn't seem to care, so neither did I.

After about ten minutes of his constant motions and his lips and hands wandering my body, I felt the aching pleasure I was feeling where Edward and I were grinding against each other build and build, until I couldn't hold it together anymore.

"Oh… Edward!" I screamed into his chest as my body exploded, lights flashed behind my eyelids and my legs turned to jelly around Edwards waist.

I heard Edward growl and he thrust against me sharply once before freezing and cursed into my hair, mumbling things that I couldn't make out.

I was a panting, liquefied mess in his arms and he wasn't much better.

I laid back across the counter, simply too weak to stay sitting up anymore, and Edward follow me down, resting on top of me. He managed to put his arms along either sides of my head to hold most his weight off me and I was grateful. Edward wasn't a big guy, but he wasn't small either, and I was sure that he might crush me after a few minutes of laying on me.

"Are you okay, angel?" Edward panted above me.

"Yeah." I whispered.

I couldn't really say much of anything else at the moment, I was too busy trying to catch my breath.

He pushed himself up and stared down at me, probably checking that I was actually okay.

"You sure? I wasn't too rough with…" He trailed off.

I covered his mouth with my hand. "It was fine Edward." I reassured him.

He crooked an eyebrow down at me and smirked.

"Just _fine_, Bella? If it was only _fine _then I wasn't doing something right." He teased.

I giggled and tried to sit up properly, but Edward had to help, I was still drained. I saw Edward looking down at my chest unabashedly and blushed when I remembered that I was practically naked with the exception of my panties.

I quickly pulled the shirt up from the counter and wrapped it around me, looking down at my feet shyly.

Edward's finger was underneath my chin in an instant and tilted my face up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. You're just so beautiful that I can't help myself." He grinned as he apologized.

I smiled at him to let him know it was okay and he helped me off the counter and steadied me.

"Why don't we go take showers and get dressed, then we can go see Em and Rose and get some breakfast?" He suggested. I nodded and followed him back to his bedroom.

I wasn't too happy when it finally dawned on me that it was Edward bedroom and wanted to move to the guest room immediately, but he nearly demanded that I keep it at least until Rose and Alice 'decorate' the guest room for me.

I was a little worried about that part. From what I could tell so far, I was pretty sure that they'd go a little over the top. I'd have to try my best to reign them in and pray for success.

"I'll go shower in the guest bathroom." Edward murmured after he grabbed some clothes out of his dresser.

"You can use whatever you need in the shower. I'll have to tell Rose to make sure that you get all that stuff when you go shopping this weekend." He said the last part more to himself than me.

I nodded and he walked out the door, shutting it behind him and leaving me alone.

Biting my lip, I walked into the bathroom and laid eyes on the humongous shower. I'm pretty sure that the shower itself was the size of my entire bathroom back in my dorm. Seriously, who the hell needs a shower this big? What did Edward do in here?

Remembering Alice going of on me the other morning, thinking that I was one of the girls Edward 'paraded through here', I didn't really want the answer to my last question.

_Maybe I shouldn't shower in it, I might an STD from the tiles. _

I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts, knowing logically that I couldn't get a STD like that, and I had already made it to third base with Edward anyway, so it didn't matter.

Stripping off my shirt and panties before turning the shower on. I startled when five of the nozzles came on. What is with rich people and their fifty showerheads? It was like a guy with a small penis that goes out to by a big truck.

Although, from what I can tell, Edward defiantly doesn't have _that _problem.

Stepping inside the hot water, I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.

_Oh god, this feels great. _

I hadn't taken a shower in days and I felt disgusting, I wondered how Edward could stand to do the things we'd been doing. I was sure I didn't smell the greatest in the world.

I looked through Edwards' shower caddy and found the shampoo. I was slightly disappointed that it was just basic man shampoo. I didn't know why I was expecting something different, I guess it was just because Edward always smelled so good, I thought that he'd have something special.

I lathered and rinsed my hair, conditioning it and finally grabbing the body wash and scrubbed the dirt off me.

Oh god, I finally feel clean!

For a moment I considered using Edward razor to shave my legs, but decided it wasn't that bad and I'd just wait until I got my own. Using his razor seemed like going a little too far.

Turning off the shower, I grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped myself up in it. I was wondering what I was going to wear, Rose had only given me the one outfit, I think, and I couldn't very well go over there in a towel.

I didn't have to worry about my clothing problem anymore when I walked into the bedroom.

"Oh my god! Alice!" I yelled, putting a hand over my chest to calm my heart.

The little pixie was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth just smiling at me.

"What?" She asked innocently. A little too innocently.

"You scared the crap out of me!" I exclaimed.

She just giggled and jumped off the bed, shoving clothes into my arms I hadn't realized she was holding.

"I just came by to give you some clothes, don't worry, we'll go shopping tomorrow. You won't have to borrow Rose's clothes for much longer." Alice said and skipped out the door without another word.

I was starting to get all those things Edward said about Alice being odd.

I dried myself off and dressed quickly in the jean shorts and plain white t-shirt. It was a little loose, but that was probably just because Rose had me beat in the chest department.

By the time I was finished with everything, including drying my hair the best I could without a blow drier, because apparently, Edward's messy hair doesn't require one, Edward already in the living room waiting for me. He was idly going through his phone with his feet up on the coffee table. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans that fit….snuggly, lets just say and a white v-neck t-shirt.

"Sorry I took so long." I said, announcing my arrival to him.

He jumped up and shoved his phone in his pocket, grinning at me.

"It's fine, I haven't been here long. Although I did see Alice sneaking out. Did she give you any trouble?" He asked.

"No, she just gave me some clothes and left." I said.

Edward nodded and held him hand out to me to take, leading us out the door.

It was a short walk to Emmett's house, with me and Edward teasing each other about certain things. I mentioned to him that I didn't use his razor to shave my legs and he teased me about my 'stubbly legs'. I got him back when I pretended to be upset and actually got fake tears in my eyes. He got all worried and apologized up and down, but I couldn't hold my laughter in for very long and it gave me away.

He didn't think it was very funny.

But after I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and pout, he forgave me.

Things were so easy with Edward now. It amazed me how we could go from grinding on each other in his kitchen to laughing and teasing each other.

Edward walked right into Emmett's house and yelled out that we were here. Emmett yelled back something extremely crude about me and Edward and Edward rolled his eyes and yelled back to shut up along with some rather colorful words.

I was a little surprised that Alice and Rose weren't here, but Jasper was sitting on one of the stools at the island.

"Where's Rose and Alice?" I asked Edward.

"They're over with Esme, doing something. They said they'd be back in a few minutes." Jasper answered instead.

"Esme?" I asked.

"My mom." Edward explained.

"Oh." I said lamely.

I figured that Edward had a mom, but he just never said anything about her, so I thought that maybe she had died or left.

Before I could form a more eloquent answer, Alice and Rose came through the door, Alice nearly running to me with Rose trailing behind, almost looking bored, but doting.

"Here Bella, you'll need this." Alice thrust a few pieces of cloth and some string.

"And this is…." I trailed off.

"It's a bikini, silly. We're going to catch some sun today and I thought you'd want something else to do it in than your underwear." Alice explained.

This was supposed to be a bikini? Would it even cover anything?

"Alice, I can't wear this! It doesn't even look like a bikini, it's a few inches of material and some strings!" I panicked.

"Oh please, it's looks smaller than it is and besides, you've got a rockin body. I'm sure Edward can attest to that." She glanced at Edward from the corner of her eye.

I blushed and wished I could just blend into the kitchen with all the other appliances and Edward huffed and glared at Alice.

"_Can _you attest to that Edward?" Rose asked, a clear warning in her voice.

Edward's eyes widened and he started stuttering, looking for the tight words that wouldn't make him say bye bye to his man parts.

"It's fine, I'll go try it on. Rose, will you help me?" I diverted her attention away from Edward.

She cast another glance at Edward before she nodded her head and motioned for me to follow her.

I followed her to what appeared to be their bedroom and took a closer look at the bikini. It was simple, a light blue color with tiny white polka dots all over, but incredibly intimidating.

"You can wear your shorts over the bottoms if you want. Alice can get carried away sometimes, she forgets that everyone isn't used to running around a beach in bikinis for years." Rose said from her closet, probably searching for her own swimsuit.

"Thanks, I think I'll do that. Alice does seem to be a little… um… enthusiastic." I say, trying to be nice about my description.

She laughed, coming out the closet with her own dark green swimsuit in hand.

"You can say it Bella; she's annoyingly perky and pushy and I'm pretty sure that she has ADHD. Go ahead and change here if you want, or you can go in the bathroom." She said, peeling her shirt off with her back turned to me, probably trying to give me some amount of privacy.

I shrugged and just took my shirt off as well. It was just Rose, surprisingly I wasn't self-conscious around her, it was Edward and the other guys that I wasn't sure about.

It wasn't about me being uncomfortable around them, I wasn't, it was just my natural self-conscious tendencies coming out to play. Despite being in college, the most naked that I've ever been around a man is in my underwear with Edward. I'd always worn a one-piece swimsuit when I went on vacation, that was just around my family.

I sighed as I realized that I really didn't have much experience at all and wondered how the hell Edward could find me attractive in the first place.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Nothing. It's just… I don't have much experience with these kinds of things, you know, guys and bikinis and all that stuff. I just wonder how Edward can like me at all." I spilled to her.

"So, you do like Edward." She stated.

I bit my lip, but nodded to her.

"I thought so and I'm sure he likes you to. Or at least he better." She mumbled the part under her breath.

"He does like me Rose. He even asked me to go out on a date with him last night." I told her.

She seemed happy at this piece of information as she nodded her head. "I just want to know one thing Bella."

"What?" I asked.

"Has he asked you to sleep with him?" She inquired.

I blushed at the question. I wasn't sure if it was a good time to tell her about what Edward and I did last night and this morning, but I realized that I didn't necessarily have to. Edward never asked if I would sleep with him. He didn't even bring up the subject of us going 'all the way'.

"No, he hasn't asked me to sleep with him." I told her truthfully.

"I'm actually surprised. Hopefully he won't fuck this up, you're different, you're good for him." Rose said, looking at me cryptically.

"Here, turn around and I'll tied your top for you." She twirled her hand, motioning me to turn.

I did as she told and pulled my hair forward across my right shoulder as she tied it together.

"I'm nervous Rose. I've never been in a bikini around a guy before. What if Edward doesn't like the way I look or…" I trailed off nervously.

"You'll be fine Bella. You have great body and if I know Edward as well as I do, he'll have to wipe the droll off his chin when he see's you." She laughed.

I giggled, envisioning Edward as one of those cartoon characters whose eyes pop out of their head and their tongue rolls out onto the floor.

We finished getting ready, then walked back out to the kitchen. Only Alice was sitting there in her own swimsuit, of course it was bright pink with frills around the edges, eating a piece of toast.

"Oh Bella, you look hot! Edward won't know what to do with himself." She giggled, jumping off the stool and gliding over to us.

"Come on, they guys are in the living room." She pulled me by the hand to said living room.

My eyes zeroed in on Edward in a pair of black, low hanging swim trunks and nothing else. His bare and very muscled chest was open for my viewing pleasure.

Oh my. I should have examined that particular part of him a little more this morning. And that sexy trail of hair was visible, I could see it leading down into his trunks and I just wanted to-

"Whoa, Belly Bee, looking fine!" Emmett called out from across the room and wolf whistled, rudely interrupting me.

I blushed and glared at him playfully. I noticed Edward staring at me from the corner of my eye and focused my attention back on him. He was openly ogling me, looking me up and down several times before clearing his throat.

"You uh, l-look very n-nice, Bella. You ready?" He stuttered adorably, looking flushed.

"Yep, we're ready. Come on, let's go catch some waves!" Alice jumped up and down.

_Jesus, I almost wanted to check her for batteries. _

Edward walked over to me and grinned, taking my hand and bringing it up to his lips for a kiss.

"Come on angel, lets go out and play." He spoke more confidently than a few seconds ago.

~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*

We'd been out on the beach for nearly an hour, they boys and Alice out playing the water, with Rose and I laid out on the beach chairs, trying to soak up the sun. I definitely needed a tan, my paleness was getting ridiculous.

Edward would occasionally come up and shake water all over us, making Rose cuss him out into tomorrow and me giggle hysterically and shoo him away.

Emmett surprised me by coming out of the house with breakfast burritos that he'd made. That guy really is an amazing cook and I think I may love him for it.

Rose finally decided she had enough sun for now and went out in the water with Emmett to play a game with Alice and Jasper. Edward came up and took Rose's place next to me, sighing and shutting his eyes.

"Do you like it out here?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I do. It's great, there were never any places like this where I lived and the only time I got any sun was a couple of weeks out of the summer when we went on vacation. And even then it was kind of annoying, because my mom and dad would always fight, Phil would completely ignore it and pull my mom away to do 'couples' stuff when he could and Riley would slink away to do god knows what. I much prefer to be here hanging out with everyone." I told him, smiling brightly.

I noticed him frown at Riley's name, but didn't say anything, just reached over and brushed my hair behind my ear.

"We haven't talked much about last night and this morning. Are you sure that you're alright with everything?" He asked, looking nervous.

"Everything is fine, Edward. No, it was amazing, really." I assured him.

"I'm sensing a but in there." He said.

I bit my bottom lip and thought about how to say this.

"Edward, do expect me to…sleep with you soon?" I asked. I thought that he probably wouldn't but I just needed to clear it up for both of us.

"No! No, Bella, I don't expect that of you. This-this isn't just about sex. I knew I was moving too fast." He grumbled the last bit under his breath.

"I know it's not about sex and it's not that we're moving too fast, I like the speed we're going. I just wanted to clarify some things, that's all." I said.

"You sure?" Edward asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'd actually like to do something like that again sometime." I blushed just saying it.

He smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek. "I think that can be arranged, angel." He murmured.

I laughed and looked back toward the ocean and saw Alice and Rose on Jasper and Emmett's shoulders respectively, hitting each other with those big Styrofoam noodles. Alice got in a good hit and knocked Rose off into the water before Emmett could catch her.

"Do you want to go play?" Edward asked, motioning to the place where Rose was storming out of the water, wringing her hair out, with Emmett chasing after her and apologizing for not catching her.

"Get up pretty boy." Rose growled, nudging Edward's leg.

He got up and pulled me up after him.

"We're going to take your place, so don't worry, I won't be here getting between yours and Emmett's tongues." Edward grumbled at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him and reached for the sunblock.

Once we were out in the water a little more than waist deep for Edward and chest deep for me, he squatted down in the water and bent slightly, allowing me to climb on his shoulders. When I was adjusted, he passed me up a purple noodle and I readied myself to take Alice down. I felt his hands grip my thighs and my mind flashed back to earlier this morning.

_Stop it, Bella! Focus damnit! _

We hit and jabbed at each other for about ten minutes, me accidentally hitting Jasper a few times to which he just laughed, I knocked Alice off his shoulders and she splashed into the water.

I laughed and held my noodle into the air victoriously and could hear Emmett rooting for me from the beach.

Edward let me down into the water and I saw Carlisle standing a few yards away from Emmett and Rose on the beach. I nodded toward him and Edward spotted him. We walked out of the water, I reached the chairs and Rose handed me a towel while Edward, Emmett and Jasper went to go see what Carlisle wanted.

They talked for a few minutes before Carlisle turned and headed back toward the other side of the beach.

Edward didn't look too happy about something as he walked back over to us.

"What did he want?" Alice asked.

"He wants us to go over later and talk about something to do with Marcus and Uncle Aro." Edward grumbled.

I sucked in a breath. Did Carlisle have new news about them? Was it good or bad?

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Edward noticed my discomfort. I nodded my head and stared straight ahead, not entirely sure he was right.

**~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~**

Emmett and I had teamed up to make an excellent lunch of grilled chicken and broccoli and cheese.

Edward inhaled it like a starving man mumbled 'so good' and 'this is amazing' around mouthfuls of food.

After everyone was finished, Alice and Rose went over to Alice's house to get some clothes and shower. I stayed here, figuring I could just take a shower when Edward and I went home in a while.

Emmett got up and leaned over the counter toward Edward.

"We have to go over to dad's remember." Emmett said to Edward, walking around the counter and grabbing Edward by the back of the shirt, pulling him along.

"Wait a minute!" Edward yelled, pushing Emmett away from him. He walked over to me and leaned down.

"Em and I are gonna go. Jasper will stay here with you, I'll only be gone for a while, maybe a half and hour." Edward murmured to me.

"Okay." I whispered back.

Edward leaned down closer to press a kiss to my lips then he and Emmett walked out the door, leaving me with Jasper.

This isn't awkward _at all._

"I'm not going to bite you or anything Bella, Alice might get a little jealous." Jasper snickered at me lightly in his southern accent.

I blushed and focused on my eggs.

"I don't think you're gonna bite me, we just haven't had much of a chance to talk with everything going on." I said.

"Do you like it here, with Edward?" Jasper asked out of the blue. He sounded so much more serious than just a few seconds ago and it startled me a little.

"Yes. I… like Edward and he likes me. And plus it's not like I can really leave if I wanted to anyway." I said half jokingly.

"You can always leave Bella. We would have let you, regardless of what Edward said. So, the question I'm asking you is, do you really like it here and want to stay here with Edward, or would you rather go home? It's your choice." Jasper asked.

I only had to think about it for a second before I answered him. "I want to stay here with Edward for as long as he wants me here. I really do like Edward, I'm not just saying that."

Jasper seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded.

"Alright, I believe you. I just wanted to be sure you weren't being held against your will here like in one of those novels that Alice likes to read all the time." He laughed and I had to giggle. Jaspers emotions were infectious. If he was happy you couldn't help but smile and laugh with him, if he was serious about something, you immediately sobered up.

Before I could respond, a shrill ringing came from Jaspers pocket. He pulled the phone out and looked at it and a strange look crossed his face.

"Hey Bella, will you be okay here for a few minutes, I've got to take this in the other room?" Jasper asked, pointing toward what I remembered to be a bedroom.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I smiled at him.

He nodded his head and walked off, dialing a number as he went.

I got up and washed my plate off, then a thought struck me.

Was Riley still here?

I looked over to the door that Jasper disappeared behind and once I was pretty sure he wasn't coming back through it anytime soon, I headed to the room were I last saw Riley in.

I opened the door slowly and slid inside. Riley was still tied up to the chair, he looked haggard and was still bloody from Edwards punches, but he was awake and was looking at me.

I wanted to say something to him, but what?

_Sorry that you're tied up, but you really deserve it asshole. _

_I'm going to try to get you sent back home, but I can't make any promises because I'm pretty sure Edward wants to kill you. _

I don't think that would work well.

I glanced over at Riley to make sure he was still tied to the chair. I know, it was ridiculous, of course he'd still be tied there. Now he was glaring at me so harshly that it made me flinch away from him.

I never realized just how unsettling Riley was until now.

I turned around and tried to ignore his heated glares the best I could, but it was hard.

My focus was instead drawn to the pictures that lined the far wall of the room. In one picture, I recognized Emmett, Alice and Edward, but they looked younger in the picture, none of them seemed to be over sixteen or seventeen.

They were sitting together on a couch, Edward on one side and Emmett on the other, with Alice laying along the couch between them, her feet resting up in Edwards' lap. They all had the biggest smiles on their faces and I couldn't help but smile myself while looking at it.

A picture next to it was one of Carlisle and a beautiful woman who I assumed was Esme; Alice, Emmett and Edwards mom. She, like Carlisle, didn't look much older than thirty-five to forty, but I knew that couldn't be right. She had wavy caramel colored hair that came down a few inches past her shoulders, light brown eyes and a warm, loving smile. This woman seemed very motherly and it suddenly made me ache for my own mother.

What was she doing right now? Was she thinking about me? I was pretty sure that she and Phil were still searching for Riley, but did she still have time to take care of herself? Was she getting enough sleep and plenty to eat? Renee had a bad habit of forgetting to eat when she was upset or worrying about something. One time she went for a full two days without eating anything before I had to cook something for her and almost force her to sit down and eat.

I sighed and pushed her to the back of my mind. Renee has Phil, he'll take care of her.

I started to look at another picture, one of Emmett in a tux and Rose in a beautiful weeding dress when, I felt someone sneak up behind me. Their right arm wrapped around my waist and trapped my arms tightly at my sides, their other arm coming up so their hand covered my mouth.

I tried to scream, but it was only muffled against his hand. I struggled with him and he tightened his grip on me.

"You're not going anywhere Bella, so don't even try it." Riley's voice seethed into my ear.

_Riley. _

How did he get untied? It was impossible, wasn't it? Edward has assured me that the knots they made were extremely hard for him to get undone, if not completely impossible.

I whimpered and turned my head away from him the best I could.

He started dragging me out of the living room and I noticed we were heading toward the kitchen. What was he doing? The front door was in the opposite direction.

Where was Jasper? He said he would be right back, that he only needed to go make a call.

He pulled me into the kitchen with him and shoved me over the counter, face down, and held me there with his body halfway bent over mine. With a hand still around my mouth, he managed to reach to the right of my head for something I couldn't see.

"I told you that you'd fucking pay for this you bitch." He whispered in my ear.

_What was he going to do? Where was everyone? _

I started squirming around, trying my best to get him off me, to get him to loosen his grip so I could scream or run, but he wasn't budging.

Riley tilted my head up with the hand over my mouth and I felt him slide something against my neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glint.

A knife.

Oh god, he was going to kill me.

I panicked and started screaming and crying around his hand and tried to kick out, hitting him in the shins.

Nothing was working, he was too strong.

"I'm so sorry I had to do this Bella, but really, it's your fault. If you had just fulfilled your purpose in the first place, I wouldn't have to slit your throat." Riley said.

I felt pain of the blade digging into my skin for only a second before it was gone, a deafening shot rang out and I screamed. Suddenly the weight of Riley's body was removed from me.

I spun around as fast as I could to see what had happened. The first thing I saw was Riley laying on the ground, covered in blood that was seeping all over the floor. Then I saw Jasper standing a few feet away from me and Riley with a gun in his hand.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Jasper asked seriously.

I couldn't speak, so I just nodded my head at him and tried to look anywhere but Riley's body.

I could feel a trickle of something run down my collarbone, I reached up to press my fingers against it and pulled back blood covered fingers.

_My _blood.

I could smell it, that disgusting copper and salt smell. The room started to blur and Jasper was going in and out of my focus until I couldn't see him anymore.

My legs gave out and I felt my body hit the floor. The last thing I heard before everything went completely black was Edwards' voice yelling my name.


	14. Chapter 14

**EPOV**

The shot that I heard ring out made my heart drop into my stomach.

Bella.

I just knew it in my gut that it was Bella.

I ran out the door before Emmett an Carlisle even had a chance to take a step. I couldn't see straight, I just kept running and running, visions of Bella laying on the ground shot, bleeding, or dead, running through my mind.

Before I knew it I was swinging the door to Emmett's house open so hard it bounced off the wall and nearly back into me. I darted into through the living room and hallways without any sign of them, until I came upon the kitchen.

"Bella!" I yelled. She was lying on the ground; I could see blood smeared across her neck and chest. Oh god, she looked so still and pale lying there, that she looked….dead. I shoved my way past Jasper and what I noticed to be Riley's hopefully dead body, to kneel down next to her and pulled her closer to me so I could get a better look at her injuries.

_Oh god, my beautiful angel. _

"Bella, Bella, oh god." I whispered. There was a cut on her neck, it looked a bit deep, enough for me to start panicking over it.

I vaguely heard Emmett and Carlisle run into the room, but didn't pay them any attention.

"Edward move, I need to stop the bleeding." Carlisle said as he tried to push me over. I only moved a few inches, but it was enough for him.

He had a towel in his hand that I didn't know or care where he got, that he pressed gently to her throat.

"Emmett, call Esme and have her bring my medical bag." He ordered, focused on Bella.

"Will she be okay?" I was almost afraid of his answer.

"I think she will be. The cut is fairly deep, though it isn't very long across her throat. If I can stitch it up before she loses too much blood, we won't have to take her to a hospital." He said, all the while holding pressure to the neck and monitoring her pulse.

"Mom's on her way." Emmett said.

I glanced up and saw Jasper still standing a couple feet away with the gun he used to shoot Riley. I took an extra few seconds to look at Riley closely and noticed that his chest wasn't rising and falling in the slightest bit.

He was dead.

"What in the hell happened Jasper?" I growled.

"I'm sorry man; I just went in the guest room to take a call. When I left her, she was here in the kitchen eating and Riley was still securely tied up in the other room. I don't know how he could have gotten out. When I got off the phone, I heard a voice that obviously wasn't Bella's or yours, so I grabbed the gun Em keeps in the room and came out and saw that Riley had Bella bent over the counter with the knife to her neck. I wasn't going to waste any time asking questions." He explained.

I was angry at him, angry that he had left Bella alone when I had asked him to watch out for her. But my anger at Jasper was overshadowed by my worry over Bella, so I decided I'd deal with Jasper later.

I heard the pitter patter of Esme's shoes running through the house and let out a gust of air knowing that the supplies Carlisle needed were here now.

Esme gasped and handed the bag over to Carlisle, he pulled out everything he's need to stitch her up, injecting her with some pain medication before beginning.

All I could do was sit beside Bella and watch Carlisle help her, praying that she'd wake up and be okay.

**BPOV**

"_Bella… Bella, please wake up angel." _

I heard a voice that sounded incredibly familiar whispering to me. I tried to do what it asked of me, but I was surrounded by darkness, I felt frozen, I could move, I couldn't speak…nothing.

I was starting to panic.

"_She'll be fine Edward, she just fainted, that's all." _I heard another familiar voice say.

Wait… Edward.

Edward was here; his voice was the one I heard asking me to wake up.

"_I know that she just fainted, Carlisle. That doesn't make me feel any better." _Edward growled.

He sounds so angry… He shouldn't be angry, especially at Carlisle, he didn't do anything wrong.

I groaned, wanting to tell him to not take this out on his father, but I couldn't seem to form any words.

"Bella? Come on, angel. Open your eyes for me, please." Edwards's voice took on a desperate edge and it made my chest clench in pain.

I forced my eyelids to flutter open and squinted up from the light. My head was killing me for some reason.

"Edward…" I tried to mumble out, but even to my ears it sounded garbled and I wasn't sure if he could understand me at all.

"Shhh… It's okay angel, you're safe, I'm here." He whispered to me.

What did he mean by _safe_?

Then it all clicked back into place. Riley grabbing me, he somehow got untied, pulling me into the kitchen, the knife digging into my throat… Jasper shooting him, I fainted when I smelled the blood running down my neck.

My eyes opened further and finally saw Edward leaning over me with a pained look on his face. His concern filled emerald eyes searching my face.

"Edward…" I tried again. This time it sounded much clearer.

"I'm right here, what is it? Does anything hurt?" He asked almost frantically.

"My head… It's killing me…" I told him, reaching my hand up to rub against one of my temples in an attempt to sooth the throbbing.

It wasn't working very well. "When you fell, you hit your head on the floor pretty hard." Carlisle said from behind Edward. "I need to check if you have a concussion, Edward please move over." He said, kneeling down next to Edward.

Edward moved out the way only after giving Carlisle a dirty look, but he still sat close to my head and I could see him out of the corner of my eye.

"Bella, please follow my finger." Carlisle asked, holding up his pointer finger in front of my face.

I did as he asked as he shined a tiny pen flashlight into my eyes. After he was done with that, he gently felt the side of my head where a decent sized bump had formed.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that you seem to have a small concussion, but thankfully it's nothing too serious. Other than that, you just had a cut across the left side of your neck, it was a little deep, nothing too serious, but I had to put four stitches in." He smiled reassuringly.

He moved out of the way so Edward could take his place next to me again.

"Does anything else hurt, Bella? What about your neck?" Edward asked. His eyebrows were drawn together so closely that it looked like he had a uni-brow and I couldn't help but giggle at it for some reason.

My giggling must have made him more concerned because his eyebrows drew together even more, making me laugh harder.

Oh, that's not such a good idea. It makes everything hurt.

"Are you sure all she has is a concussion dad?" Edward turned his head toward Carlisle and asked him.

"Yes… Maybe she's in shock." He mumbled.

I stopped my giggles because it was hurting my head and worrying Edward and Carlisle.

"I'm sorry…. It's just…your eyebrows." I breathed out between giggles.

A grin broke across Edwards face as he looked down at me and he shook his head.

"Only you angel, only you." He chuckled.

"Is she alright?" A frantic voice called from across the room. It was a voice I hadn't heard before and it was soft, feminine and concerned, almost motherly.

"Yes dear, she's going to be fine." Carlisle answered her.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, I cannot believe I have to meet this girl under circumstances like this. You should have brought her by yesterday. It's like I never taught you any manners when you were young." She scolded Edward.

"I'm sorry mom, but we were a little bit busy." He sighed as he apologized.

"That's no excuse. She obviously means something to you and you can't even take thirty minutes out for her to meet me." She went on. _I think I like her. _

"Mom!" Edward hissed, clearly not liking to be called out on his attraction to me by his mother.

"Edward, it's okay." I mumble to him.

This draws his attention back to me immediately and I notice the changes in his face. When he was talking to his mom, his face was tense, exasperated an slightly annoyed, but when he focused on me, the muscles in his face relaxed and his eyes softened and gazed down at me almost tenderly.

"I'm sorry about my mom; she's just worried about you." He said, giving a teasing glare over his shoulder toward his mom.

Then suddenly the beautiful woman I had been looking at in the picture earlier came up next to Edward and looked down at me with such motherly concern I felt my eyes water.

_Not even Renee had ever looked at me like that._

"Oh sweetie, are you alright?" She asked me, kneeling down next to me and practically shoving Edward out of her way.

I nodded at her and blinked, trying to keep the tears from falling.

She smoothed my hair back from my forehead in a comforting gesture and that broke my control; the tears started to fall down my cheeks silently and I sniffled.

She pulled me to her and I buried my face in her neck, ignoring the dull pain throughout my entire body at the action.

"Shhh…" She hushed me, rocking me back and forth gently. After a few minutes, I relaxed and stopped crying, and then I was immediately embarrassed by my outburst and pulled away.

"I'm sorry." I apologized as I wiped my cheeks off.

"Nonsense! I don't mind one bit sweetie and you have nothing to apologize for." She nearly scolded me.

I smiled at her, unable to form words for her motherly kindness, before turning my attention back to Edward. He looked upset, his head was hanging, but I could see a frown crease his face and he seemed to be concentrating extremely hard on the hardwood floor.

Esme seemed to notice this too, as she stood up and smiled down at me. Walking over to Carlisle, she took his hand and gave his arm a tug.

"Carlisle, why don't we leave now. Bella's okay, aren't you sweetie?" She asked me.

"I'm fine." I whispered, stilling looking at Edward from the corner of my eye.

"Alright, just call us if you need anything." She said, dragging her confused husband out the door without another word.

Edward and I sat in a slightly awkward silence for a minute before he finally broke.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." He whispered hoarsely to me.

I frowned at him, even though he didn't have his head lifted up to see it. Why hell would he be sorry? _He _didn't attack me, Riley did.

Wait a minute…

"Edward… Where's Riley?" I asked timidly.

He finally looked up at me before answering.

"He's…he's dead Bella. Jasper shot him and killed him. I'm sorry; I know you didn't want us to kill him, but-"

"Edward stop!" I cut him off. He closed his mouth immediately and somehow managed to look like a reprimanded puppy.

"Edward, do you honestly think I'm mad at you because you, well Jasper, killed the man that was about to kill _me_?" I asked.

"You said you didn't want us to kill him." He argued.

"Well yeah, but that was before he tried to slice my throat open with a kitchen knife." I said half sarcastically, but kind of regretted it when Edward winced at my words.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that Edward, but it's the truth. I'm not mad at you, or Jasper for that matter. In fact, when I see him, I think I'll hug him." I laughed a little, but winced at the pain it made in throat.

He moved toward me and was next to me in a second, examining my throat with gentle fingers.

"Do you want something for the pain?" He asked quietly.

I placed my hands on his slightly scruffy face, wondering when the last time he shaved was, and ignored his question.

"That wasn't the only reason that you were upset." It wasn't a question, I knew Edward enough to know that something was still bothering him.

He sighed dropped his hand from my throat.

"I wasn't there to protect you." He muttered sullenly.

"Edward… Jasper was there before anything really bad could happen to me." I pointed out.

"That's not the point- wait, I'm glad Jazz was there, but…" He trailed off, struggling to explain. "I should have been there. I should have stayed with you, and then Riley would have never even gotten near you. It's my fault that you're hurt."

"Edward, you can't be with me twenty-four/seven. That's ridiculous. You had no idea what was going to happen. It's not your fault." I said.

He huffed and tried to pull away from me, but I wouldn't let him, keeping a firm grip on his face.

"No Edward, I won't let you pull away. It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done, I'm not upset with you and you shouldn't be upset with yourself." I insisted to him.

He looked into my eyes, his own searching for something in mine before reaching his arms out to wrap around me gently and pulled me into his warm chest.

"You scared me." I heard him whisper against the top of my head.

"Think of it as payback for that little game of Russian Roulette you played a few days ago." I muttered half playfully half seriously.

He chuckled dryly then buried his face deeper into my hair.

"Well I promise not to do that again if you promise not to do anything like this again." He teased a little, rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"I promise." I laughed lightly.

"Good." He murmured.

We sat like that for a few more moments, wrapped up in Edward's arms while he rubbed my back; it was making me so sleepy I had to have a fight with my eyelids. Unfortunately, they were winning.

"Come on angel, I'll take you back home so you can take a nap, you need one." He said, pulling away from me.

"No. I wanna stay here with you." I mumbled stubbornly.

He chuckled a little before lifting me into his arms bridle style.

"Don't you want a nice comfy bed?" He tempted me.

"Will you be in it with me?" I asked sleepily.

"Where else would I be? I'm going to be playing nurse for the next few days; I might as well be close to my patient." He smirked.

_Edward playing nurse… maybe doctor, oh yeah, I could get into that. _

"Wait, where's Jasper?" I asked suddenly.

"Um, he went back home with Alice after Carlisle was sure you were going to be okay. Why?" He answered.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank him for… uh… saving me." I explained to him. I thought it was poor etiquette for one not to thank the person who saved your life, but maybe that was just me.

"I'll take you over to see him after your nap, you need to rest." It sounded a lot like a demand to me…

I quirked my eyebrow at him and his _demand_, he quickly realized his mistake.

"Please…?" He questioned nervously.

I acquiesced by resting my head against his shoulder and shut my eyes. I felt him relax instantly and he started walking in smooth strides.

I found it somewhat amusing and heartwarming that he could be so big, bad and intimidating, but I could give him one look and he melted and did anything I asked of him.

I was lulled into sleep by the rhythm of Edward's long strides across the sand.

**~*~*~*~*~*SIL*~*~*~*~*~**

My eyes fluttered and I groaned, not wanting anything to do with sunlight.

"Bellllaaa." Someone who sounded suspiciously like Alice sung in my ear.

I grunted shut my eyes tighter.

"I know that you're awake Bella. Get up, I have a job to do with you, but before I can, dad and Mr. Overprotective need to make sure you're up to it." She was annoyingly perky.

I opened my eyes just enough to see her kneeling bedside the bed, a few inches from my face, staring expectantly at me with wide eyes.

"I wanna sleep some more." I grumbled.

"You've been sleeping for five hours; it took Edward threatening me with withholding my Christmas present this year for me to wait this long. He always gives me the best ones; last year he got me a Porsche. It's so beautiful. I can't wait to see what he gets me this year." She rambled on enthusiastically.

"What are these plans you have for me? Should I be afraid?" I asked hesitantly.

"I can't tell you yet, but it's nothing to fear." Alice assured me.

I rolled over and grimaced, instantly being reminded of my neck.

Crap.

"Ugh." I moaned.

"Come on Bella, dad's out in the living room, he'll look at you." Alice grabbed my hand and gently helped me off the bed.

I was still half asleep as she pulled me through the hallways.

"Alice, you said you'd wake her up, not drag her though the house half dead." I heard Edward grumble.

"Chillax Edward, it's not like I'm pulling her by the hair." Alice sighed, guiding me to the couch next to Carlisle.

He just laughed at his children and turned to me.

"Bella, are you feeling any pain?" He asked, zeroing in on my neck.

"Not really, it's more of a dull throbbing just around the, uh, cut. And my head still hurts a little." I told him.

"I'll give you some Vicodin for both, but I've got to go ahead and change the bandage." He told me, reaching over to grab some gauze out of his bag.

I looked over to Edward, who was standing in the corner whispering with Alice about something. They looked like they were arguing with each other, but when Edward noticed me looking at them, he stopped talking to her and smiled at me and winked.

That's not something to be concerned about at all. Can you see the sarcasm dripping off my words?

Carlisle was so quick and gentle replacing the bandage, that I barely even noticed he was doing it until I looked back to him and he was finished putting the new one on.

"So, does the patient have a clean bill of health?" Alice asked, jumping up and down.

_Shouldn't she be taking pills for that? _

"Yes, just nothing too strenuous, we don't want the stitches to break." He warned, giving Edward a look from the corner of his eye as he said it. Edward turned pink and glared at his father and I wondered what that was-

Oh.

_Nothing too strenuous. _

Was Carlisle talking about… _sex_?

I blushed, a dark shade of red and turned away from him.

"Goodbye, dad." Edward said with finality.

"Goodbye everyone." Carlisle laughed, picking up his bag and letting himself out.

"Here Bella, take this please. It'll help you feel better." Edward handed me a small white pill with a glass of orange juice.

It took both from him and did as he asked, placing the glass down when I was finished and stared at them, trying to figure out what they're up to.

"Alice, would you go check on that thing we talked about earlier?" Edward asked her cryptically.

"Yep." She chirped and flounced away.

"What's that all about?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just need to ask you a question." He said, sitting down next to me and faced me, taking one of my hands in his.

"Okay…" I drew out nervously.

"Bella, would you like to go on a date with me tonight?" He asked, biting his lip a lot like I do.

_A date? Tonight? _I had to keep my inner fan girl at bay.

"I would love to go on a date tonight Edward, but what about my injury? I don't know if I want to go someplace like this." I frowned.

"Well, I thought of that and I have everything taken care of, don't worry. All you have to do is let Alice help you get ready." He promised.

"Alright then, yes I'll go on a date with you tonight." I agreed, smiling at him brightly.

He leaned over and placed a kiss on my lips, caressing my bottom lip with his tongue until I whimpered.

Edward pulled away and smirked. "No strenuous activity." He tsked playfully.

I stuck out my bottom lip and pouted at him the best I could, upset that he'd teased me like that.

"Oh, please don't do that or we'll never make it to the date." He begged, brushing his thumb over my lip.

"Go get ready for our date, and then afterwards, we can continue. Sound good, angel?" He murmured, brushing his lips against mine again.

I managed to make an affirmative sound and pulled myself away, my god did that take a lot of strength, and headed back to the bedroom.

I sighed when I spotted several piles of clothes and multiple pairs of shoes scattered across the bed.

_Alice. _

She was good, I'll give her that.

I wanted to take a shower, but I didn't know if I should with my bandage and the stitches, so I settled on taking a bath instead and to just be extra careful around the bandage. After I soaked for a while, I dried off with one of Edward's fluffy towels and finally took a look at myself in the mirror. I'd been afraid to before now, not wanting to see how bad I looked.

It wasn't too bad, my face wasn't damaged, it was just my neck that took the brunt of everything. There was a little bruising and the white bandaged cover about three inches of my neck more toward the left side. I wasn't going to look under it because I was sure it looked a lot worse.

"Bella, hurry up, I only have another hour and a half to get you ready." Alice shouted through the door.

I hurriedly dried my hair as much as I could with the towel then wrapped it tightly around myself and opened the door.

Alice was waiting for me, sorting through all the clothes she had on the bed, tossing things here and there, it was starting to look like a hurricane had ran through here.

"What's the rush? You said we have an hour and half left, we only need about forty-five minutes." I said.

She snapped her head toward me and gaped.

"Only need….forty-five minutes… Oh god I can't breathe!" She exclaimed dramatically, slapping her hand over her heart.

"What's the big deal?" I laughed.

"Bella, I have to do your hair, your make-up, then coordinate you outfit with your shoes, see what looks good on you. Honestly, I need about two hours to get you ready, so come with me." She pulled me back into the bathroom with her. My mind was still whirling at everything she'd said. I never realized how much time girls need to get ready for a date. I was always a 'brush my hair and throw on some jeans, a shirt and a little lip-gloss' kind of girl.

"Hop up on the counter." Alice instructed me. I did as she asked and she sat her purse next to me and started digging through it, pulling out various make-up containers.

Next she leaned down and began rooting through the vanity drawers.

"Oh, for the love of everything holy, how can you not have a fucking hair dryer Edward?" She screamed. I winced away from her and mourned my shattered eardrums.

It wasn't ten seconds later when the door opened and Rosalie glided in, carrying a black hairdryer and a curling iron.

"Here." She held them out and Alice snatched both out of her hands, plugging the hairdryer in.

Rose scooted up on the counter next to me and smiled.

"So, how do you feel about your date with Edward?" She asked, nudging my leg with her foot.

"I'm kind of nervous actually. I've never been on a date." I admitted.

"There's nothing to worry about, trust us. You'll have dinner, talk, do some flirting, and maybe some dirty stuff." Alice giggled as she dried my hair.

"He better not do anything too dirty if he knows what's good for him." Rose mumbled.

"Rose, I don't mind the…dirty stuff. It's fun." I blushed.

She flashed me a look from the corner of her eye. "What kind of dirty stuff have you done?"

My eyes widened and I struggled to respond. The wrong answer could make Edward's life not so great with a grumpy and bitchy Rose.

"No much…we just, um-"

"Rose, do you have your mascara in your purse? I can't find mine." Alice asked her nonchalantly.

"Yeah, hold on, I left it in the kitchen." She slid off the vanity and walked out.

"Thanks." I whispered to Alice.

"Sometimes Rose can be a little overprotective with the people she loves, but she means well. You just need to reign her in once and a while." Alice turned off the hairdryer and picked up the curing iron.

I nodded in agreement. "That she can be I've noticed. But I get that that's just the way she shows her…love." I smiled.

Alice laughed as she took a piece of my hair and wrapped it around the iron.

Rose walked back in with mascara in hand and set it on the vanity.

"Bella, we'll talk more tomorrow. And by the way Alice, your mascara is right there." Rose smirked and pointed to the long black tube next to Alice's purse.

She walked back out the door with a flourish and Alice and I just stared at each other, trying not to laugh.


	15. Chapter 15

**BPOV**

An hour and ten minutes later, four fights between Alice and me over outfits, and several rounds of her puppy dog eyes, I was finally ready.

Alice had refused to tell me what Edward had planned, under Edward's strict orders (I'd have a word with him later), so I had no idea how I should dress. Alice however did and I guess that means she can dress me up in frilly, shiny dresses that normally I'd never touch in my entire life.

I'd refused the first three she tried to shove me into, but we finally settle on the fourth one.

It wasn't frilly at all, it was blue, black and white floral print, strapless, knee length and it had a wrap around the waist that wrapped around and was pulled together by a pretty beaded black flower on my right side. I think I loved it. I felt so pretty in it, I just wanted to twirl around in it and giggle. It was soft too; Alice said that the lining was made of silk. That made me afraid to ask how much this cost her or Rose.

When Alice had shoved a matching bra and panty set that was black and very lacy, I asked her why I would need something like this for and she explained to me that I might get 'lucky' tonight. My face took on the color of a tomato and I spluttered at her, too embarrassed to say anything.

She just said to trust her and commanded me to put them on.

The shoes she gave me were black sandal wedges, with only about an inch and a half wedge and straps that wrapped around my ankles. I thought they were perfect; they were cute, they went with the dress and most importantly, I could walk in them.

My hair was curled nearly to perfection, cascading over my shoulder and down my back in soft ringlets. The make-up Alice had done me up in was barely noticeable. My lips were glossed over in a dark pink, she had dabbed on a bit of concealer and then eye shadow and eyeliner. I definitely didn't need any blush; I took care of that part all on my own.

"Oh! You look so beautiful Bella! I swear Edward's jaw is going to drop open and fall to the floor!" Alice enthused while giving me a final once over.

I fluttered my hands nervously over the dress, making sure everything was in place.

"You're all set. I'll go check to see if Edward's ready." She practically flew out of the room and wasn't gone a minute before she came flying back in.

"Okay, I'm going to go so you two can have some privacy. Give it a minute and then go ahead and walk out to the living room. Edward will be waiting. I'll talk to you tomorrow, and don't even think about leaving out all the juicy details." She warned, backing out of the room before I could say a word.

_Huh… Alright then, guess I'm flying solo from here on out. _

I counted to sixty in my mind before I opened the door slowly and stepped out. I walked through the halls, constantly checking to make sure nothing was amiss with my outfit.

When I stepped through the entryway, I heard a gasp and my eyes shot up to see Edward gaping at me from across the room.

"Do I look okay?" I asked timidly, afraid he didn't like it.

"Do you… god Bella, you look fucking fantastic! Sorry! I mean you look fantastic, wow!" He stumbled over his words.

I burst out laughing and that seemed to ease the tension in the room.

"Thank you Edward." I giggled at him.

I took a moment to actually look at him now that my nervous had been alleviated. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the top three buttons undone, exposing part of his chest, with black dress pants. He had shaved and it looked like he had tried to tame his hair, but hadn't been very successful. I didn't mind at all though, I loved his messy sex hair.

He walked over to me and took my hand, twirling me around.

"Shall we milady?" He asked in a horrible English accent.

I laughed and nodded, he pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and I quirked an eyebrow at him in question.

"Do you always go around carrying blindfolds in your pocket?" I asked, half teasing him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, ignoring my gibe at him.

"Yes." I said without hesitating.

He grinned and explained, "I've got to put this blind fold on you, and it's a surprise and I know you'll peek."

"Alright." I agreed.

He was right, I would peek.

Edward moved so that he was standing behind me and placed the blindfold over my eyes, tying it loosely, but so I still couldn't see anything. When he was finished he put his hands over my bare shoulders and I shivered at the electric feeling that ran through my body at it. He guided me through the house, or at least it felt like it, we were going through so many hallways that I couldn't keep track. We were walking for about a minute before I felt a breeze and we stopped.

"Okay, I'm going to take the blindfold off now." I heard Edward's deep, soft voice in my ear, making me bite my lip to keep the whimper that was on the tip of my tongue under control.

I could feel him undoing the knot and all of a sudden it was lifted away and I gasped at what I saw.

"Edward….What…Oh my god…this is so beautiful." I choked out, trying to find the right words to describe it.

There was a table and chairs just enough for two placed on the beach, overlooking the water, with candles and flowers littering the table. Plates loaded with all kinds of food placed along the table, most likely the work of Emmett.

It looked like a scene out of one of those cheesy romantic films, but now that it was actually laid out in front of me, for me, it lost some of the cheese factor.

"I'm guessing you like it then?" He asked me.

"Yes." I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"Alice helped me with it; she said you'd enjoy it." He explained.

"It's a little cheesy, but I love it. Thank you." I smiled at him.

He came up closer behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against his chest.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, angel. I'd do anything for you; I would have taken you out somewhere amazing if you had wanted me to." He murmured into my ear and placed a kiss on my neck.

"I think this is so much better than any fancy restaurant you could have taken me to." I said truthfully.

"Come on." He took my hand and led me to the table. I giggled as he pulled the chair out for me.

I got a chance to get a good look at all the food laid out on my rather large plate and my stomach grumbled at it. Delicious looking Parmesan chicken, grilled scallops, an assortment of vegetables, Caesar salad and even a bottle of wine.

_I've never had wine before…_

Emmett outdid himself; because as much as I like Edward, there was no way he could have cooked any of this. Maybe he put together the salad…

He walked around the table to sit down opposite me and smiled nervously.

"As you can tell, Emmett cooked everything. Honestly, I tried to make something, but after everything came out burned, I just let Em take over."

I giggled, he was so embarrassed that he couldn't cook, but truthfully I didn't care.

"Edward, it's alright, you don't have to cook to impress me. There are lots of other things you can do that I like." I said the last part before I realized the double meaning and I blushed.

Edward just smirked and sat there looking very smug, picking up his glass of wine.

"Oh shut up." I told him.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You know what I mean, so you can get your mind out of the gutter." Then I decided to mess with him. "Although, I do like that thing you do with you fingers." I said nonchalantly.

He sputtered on the wine he was drinking and I bit my lip, trying so hard not to laugh.

"Oh? Well maybe I can show you other things I can do with my fingers later." He said once he'd regained his composer.

"Maybe." I said, smiling.

He chuckled at me, but I saw his eyes darken at my implications and he picked up his fork and started eating his salad.

I followed his lead and moaned embarrassingly loud as I took a bite of the Parmesan chicken.

"Oh my god, this is amazing." I practically groaned after I swallowed it down.

"I'll tell Em that you enjoy his cooking." He smiled after swallowing his own mouthful of chicken.

Edward and I settled into a comfortable conversation, talking about random things, carefully avoiding the subject of James and Aro and I had no problem with that. I didn't want to ruin this night talking about them.

At one point, Edward reached across the table and grabbed my hand, threading our fingers together and he grinned widely at me. It warmed me knowing that he enjoyed even the simplest of touches with me.

It seemed like forever that we were in our own little bubble, sitting there, eating, talking, and laughing. I would occasionally stare out at the ocean, watching the waves crash against the shore, causing a soothing lullaby. The moon was reflecting against the water, making it seem like it was almost glowing.

After we had finished eating everything, Edward stood up and walked over to me.

"Come on, angel." He held his hand out for me.

"Shouldn't we clean this up?" I asked, pointing to the plates and glasses.

"Not now, I'll take care of it later." Edward said.

I took his offered hand and let him lead me out close to the water. He stopped a few yards away from where the tide was coming in and sat down in the sand, stretching his legs out in front of him and spreading them apart. He took my hand and guided me so I was standing between them and motioned for me to sit down.

Once I'd settled myself down between his legs in the sand, I leaned back into his chest and allowed myself to relax, melting into him.

"It's so beautiful out here." I told him.

"Mmhmm…" He hummed into my ear. I turned my head to look at him and saw that he wasn't staring out at the water, but at me. I blushed and whipped my head back to the ocean, staring out intently.

I felt his lips glide along my neck and bare shoulder, causing my eyes to flutter close and my breathing to speed up. His mouth latched onto my pulse point on the right side of my neck, sucking, letting his tongue slip out and lick against it, and then he blew over it, causing my entire body to erupt in goose bumps.

"Very beautiful indeed." Edward murmured into my neck.

I had a feeling he wasn't talking about the ocean view.

My mind went off to earlier, with Alice talking about me getting 'lucky'. At the time, I'd thought it was stupid and she was just teasing me, but now I realized that it had some merit.

_Did I want to sleep with Edward? _

I certainly couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather share something like that with. Edward was well…Edward. He was sweet, loving, gentle, confident, protective, funny. All the best qualities I ever could have asked for in a man.

I knew I was ready to be with Edward that way. I trust him more than I'd ever trusted anyone in my life.

But of course my mind had to put in its negative two cents. What if he didn't want me?

_Of course he wants you, he's done everything you've let him so far, definitely without complaint on his part. Plus he's a man, and what man wouldn't want to have sex? _

How would I even go about approaching the subject?

_Edward, I was thinking and I realized that I want to have sex with you. _

Hmmm… that wouldn't work.

An idea struck me, it was so simple, I wondered why I hadn't thought of it earlier. I'd just let things happen tonight, let things progress naturally, and then when the time came, I'd suggest it to him. Tell him that I wanted to do it.

Simple…yes?

You'd think so, but with my nervous, I'd probably mess it up.

Edward placed another warm kiss under my ear. "What's wrong angel? You're tense." He asked, gently rubbing his right hand over my shoulders and back.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking." I told him.

"You're not a very good liar Bella." He teased.

I turned around in the space between his legs so that I was nearly face to face with him, both my legs slung over his right thigh.

"Edward, I was thinking…." I started off.

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek to encourage me to keep going.

"I-want-to-make-love-with-you-tonight." I rushed out.

His fingers froze over my cheek and he stared at me.

"Edward, I want… I want to make love with you." I told him, slowly this time so he'd actually understand me.

"How could you want that right now Bella?" He asked in disbelief, leaning away from me a little to get a better look at my face.

"I'm ready Edward, I promise." I tried to assure him.

"Bella, you're not ready." He insisted.

That made me angry. Who was he to tell me if I'm ready or not for this? I know what I want; I'm able to make my own decisions. And honestly, he was making me feel a little rejected. Weren't all men supposed to want sex?

"Don't try to tell me I'm not ready, Edward. I know my own mind, I want this… I want you." I whispered the last part to him, trying to get my point across.

He pressed his face into my shoulder for a moment, looking like he was trying to figure out how to say something, then looked back up at me.

"I'm sorry Bella, you're right. But… I don't even have anything special to do for you. Your first time is supposed to be special, with rose petals spread out everywhere and a hundred candles or something like that and with someone you trust and love." He said, running his hand through his hair nervously.

"What if I don't want all of that? What if I just want my first time to be with you, regardless of any silly flowers and candles?" I retorted.

He sighed and cupped my face in his hands.

"Bella, I… I just don't want you to regret your first time. What if one day you meet the man that you love and want to spend the rest of you life with him? Get married, have kids, all that stuff." I could see his face take on a painful look as he said this. And I think I understood why, because I felt the same way.

"What if I already found the man that I want all of that with?" I asked softly.

Edward stared into my face, blinking and his eyes rapidly scanning face inch by inch.

"What do you mean?" He asked me in an equally soft voice.

"I don't want anyone else, Edward. I want you, I want it to be with you." I admitted, tilting my head down in embarrassment.

We sat in silence for what seemed like forever, I was about to run into the house, lock myself in my room and hide forever, but before I could, I felt a warm finger under my chin, inching it up until I was looking into Edwards' green eyes.

"Are you sure Bella?" He whispered hoarsely, looking deeply into my eyes.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life Edward." I answered truthfully.

He looked pensive for a few moments, staring into my eyes and rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs, making me lean further into his touch.

"We'll take this slow, we can do some things that we've done before and then if you're ready, we can. Okay?" He asked softly.

"Sounds perfect." I told him truthfully.

"Come here." He murmured and laid down on his back in the sand, pulling me with him until I was laying on top of him. I started to laugh, but it turned into a moan when he kissed me, probing his tongue along my lips, asking for entrance which I was more than happy to grant.

With me laid out on top of him, I could feel every contour of his muscles, even through our clothing. His heated kisses made my mind go blank and my entire body was tingly.

He ran his hands up and down my sides, on the stroke up his palms would brush against my breasts and I'd shudder, feeling my nipples tighten and I fought the urge to press myself further into him.

_Oh god… this is heaven…._

I felt his hands travel a little lower than they'd been, almost cupping my butt and I was slightly ashamed that I rose my hips up to press into his hands, but not ashamed enough to not do it.

Edward took that as an invitation for more, as he pressed my hips down firmly into his penis.

Penis….That sounded far too clinical. I'd have to ask him what he calls it later…

He did it again, this time gently squeezing my butt and I moaned against his lips, his mouth catching my sounds eagerly.

From the way Edward was squeezing and grinding, I could tell he's an ass man.

I didn't mind one god damn bit either, as long as he kept up the delicious pressure and kneading….

Edward pulled back just enough to scan over my face.

"Bella, do you want to go inside?" He asked, not taking his eyes off mine.

I nodded my head and rolled off of him, allowing him to stand up. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up and into the house with him.

Walking around the side of the house to the back, we walked straight into his bedroom. He left the ceiling light off, but strode over to the lamp beside the bed and turned it on, allowing just the right amount of light shining throughout the room. Edward walked back toward me slowly, as if approaching a skittish animal.

"Is this good?" He asked once he reached me.

"Yeah, it's fine." I said, stretching my arms up to rest my hands on his broad shoulders.

He sprinkled my face with light, playful kisses, making me smile. I knew I was right about wanting to take this step with Edward, he'd never do anything to hurt me, he didn't have to make it special by doing any of those over-the-top romantic things, and this was enough.

He wrapped a strong arm around me, his fingers playing across my ribs until he found the zipper on my dress, sliding it down slowly. Once he was finished, I wriggled around a little and probably looked super sexy (_not_), until I got it so it just dropped to the ground around my feet.

I caught him ogling my panty set and blushed. I'd forgotten what I was wearing under my dress. My cheeky panties and very low cut bra. I think Alice called it a demi cup.

"You look so good angel. You're beautiful, never doubt that." He assured me in that husky voice of his that made shiver and the place between my thighs wet.

I blushed at his words and looked down, realizing I still had my shoes on. I went to bend down to undo them, but Edward stopped me.

"Allow me." He said, kneeling down in front of me and lifted my leg up, undoing the straps around my ankles one at a time, throwing them off to the side to join my dress.

He stood back up, taking his time as he went, his hands gliding up my legs smoothly, placing quick kisses on my knees, stopping them at my hips when he was standing straight.

My arms lifted up toward him hesitantly until my hands came in contact with his shirt and my fingers worked to undo the buttons, one by one. If Edward was getting impatient with the slow rate my fingers were going, he didn't show it. Instead he brought one of his hands up from my hips to cup my face and traced my lips with his thumb. It wasn't really helping me undo the buttons any faster.

Once I got all of them out of their holes, he stripped off the remainder of his shirt, flinging it to the opposite side of the room without taking his eyes off me, and I certainly had my eyes on him.

Oh god he looked so good without a shirt on. Perfect muscle tone, a little bit of chest hair sprinkled along his pectorals, traveling down his stomach into a happy trail that disappeared below his pants.

I didn't have much - well _any_ - experience with men, but I'm pretty sure that someone needs to put Edward in a museum under the title 'perfect specimen of a man'.

Reaching out tentatively, I placed my hand on one of his pecs, sliding my hand down slowly, brushing against his nipple, which reminded me of this morning. He liked it when I did that.

He sucked in a sharp breath, but didn't even flinch, standing perfectly still. It was obvious that he was giving me a chance to explore.

So that's what I did.

I put my other hand up on his chest and slowly dragged them down over his abs, his little hairs tickling my palms, until I reached the top of his pants. Then I traced back up, this time going up to his shoulders and ran my hands all the way down his arms, ending at his hands. I twined my fingers through his and pulled him closer until I was pressed against him, chest to stomach. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his body heat seep into me, I pressed kisses over his pecs and abs, rotating between open mouth and sweet chaste pecks, paying homage to these amazing muscles.

He pulled out of my embrace and I frowned, but he dipped his head down, his tongue stroking over the tops of my breasts, just over my bra line.

Burying my face and hands in his hair, my body went limp as he continued to relentlessly tongue my breasts. Thank god he was holding me by the hips or I might have collapsed.

"This is about you Bella, you don't have to do anything to make me feel good, having you like this is more than what I ever could have hoped for." He said up to me, laving my breasts even more.

I hummed to him and gripped his hair even tighter in response to the sincerity of his words.

"Can I take your bra off?" Edward looked up at me and asked.

I nodded quickly, eager for more contact with him.

He slid my bra straps off my shoulders and reached behind me to unhook it, much slower than the last time he tried. He flung it across the room without paying any attention to where it landed and immediately returned his lips to my breasts.

I was flushed and panting, trying to keep the moans from coming out as he sucked my nipple into his mouth, his tongue and teeth relentless but gentle against it. I was trying to get some friction between my thighs, but it wasn't possible when I was trying to stay standing as well.

"Edward…" I moaned desperately.

He abandoned my breasts and attacked my mouth instead, grinding his very obvious erection into my stomach and moaned. I panted against his mouth and raked my fingers through his hair.

Then I had a thought.

"Wait Edward." I whispered. He froze against me, not even breathing.

"Can I… um… can I touch it?" I asked shyly and pointed down to what I was talking about, trying to find the right words and not really knowing what to call _it_.

"W-what?" Edward stuttered.

"I'm sorry, never mind." I rushed out, turning red and stepped away from him.

"No! Bella, you just uh… caught me off guard, that's all. Of course you can touch it." He reassured me, pulling me back to him.

"What do you call it?" I asked, smiling nervously.

He got a confused look on his face. "Bella, exactly how much do you know about sex?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him.

"I don't mean it like that Edward. I know what it's called; I wanted to know what _you _call it." I clarified.

"Oh. Well, I normally just refer to it as my cock; you can call it something else." He said hesitantly.

I blushed when he said the word 'cock' and he noticed.

"You don't have to call it that, you can call it whatever you want." He assured me.

"No, I'll call it that." I said.

"Okay, angel. You can go ahead and touch it, you can do whatever you want with it," He chuckled lightly, smoothing my hair back behind my ear.

"Can I touch your… cock?" I bit my lip and blushed.

Edward got the strangest look on his face, similar to the one he had in the kitchen yesterday when I walked out in his shirt, but this seemed to be more…intense, more needy.

"Fuck… yes, Bella." He almost growled to me.

I reached out and slid my hand down his muscled stomach, fascinated as they rippled under my touch, and into the front of his boxers slowly, inching my way toward my destination. I finally felt my fingertips come in contact with the tip and we both gasped, for two different reasons; me for surprise and him for desire. He was scorching hot against my hand and it was just the tip. What would the rest of him feel like?

I moved my hand down lower to cover all of him (or as much as I could, he seemed to be rather…_large_) with my hand and stroked back up slowly. He felt different than I thought he would, he was hot and smooth, almost like velvet.

Edward moaned loudly and tilted his head forward, his eyes clenching shut for a moment before opening back up and locking with mine.

"Was that right?" I asked. I was pretty sure that it was, but I wanted to confirm it.

Instead of answering me, he bent down and captured my lips, kissing me deeply and heatedly. He pulled back after I was gasping for breath against his mouth.

I started a little when his hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist and pulled my hand out of his boxers. Did I do something wrong after all?

My fears were pushed away when Edward wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me up, I instinctively wrapped my legs around his hips and clung to him. Taking three steps forward, he released me onto the bed, placing me so that my head was resting on the mountain of pillows, and slowly followed me down.

He held his weight on his elbows, placing them on either sides of my shoulders and his legs straddled mine.

"Okay, angel?" He asked softly, running his nose along my jaw.

"Yes. Please don't stop yet." I pleaded.

He hummed and kissed the place were my shoulder met my neck, nipping at it lightly with his teeth, being careful around my bandage. Goosebumps ran over my body as he worked his way down, kissing along my shoulder, my collarbone, then finally between my breasts.

I was biting my lip, trying to keep all the embarrassing sounds in my throat.

His hot, wet tongue tracing around my nipple, making me shudder and push my chest up toward him for more. He took that as an invitation and sucked my nipple into his mouth, lavishing it repeatedly with his tongue.

"Oh god..." I breathed, unable to say anything else at the moment. I rubbed my thighs together, trying to relieve the hot pressure building between them, but it wasn't working.

Edward must have noticed my problem because he released my nipple with a wet pop and moved up under my ear, nipping at the spot. I whimpered in protest of him leaving my breast.

"Shhh angel, I'll make it better, just be patient." He murmured while placing kisses along my neck.

I clung to him, my fingers burying themselves in his hair and tugging, making him growl in a way that wasn't helping the pressure between my legs.

"Please Edward, do something… anything." I pleaded, desperate for some relief.

"As you wish my angel." He whispered hotly, trailing wet kisses from my throat, in-between my breasts (which he stopped to pay some more attention to), and to my stomach, dipping his tongue into my belly button, making me jerk.

His mouth traveled further down, until he was met with the band on my underwear. He laid moist kisses back and forth between my hips bones, just over the band. I didn't realize that my body had tensed a little until I felt his left hand smooth over my thigh repeatedly in a way that relaxed me.

I gasped slightly when his mouth suddenly went from the top of my underwear to the opposite thigh that his hand was rubbing. He stuck his tongue out and traced a pattern from the inside of my knee to the bottom edge of my underwear. I was squirming around everywhere and letting out little moans.

"Edward!" I gasped nervously.

"Shhh… It's alright angel, it's alright." He murmured soothingly against my thigh, placing warm, delicate kisses all over.

I squirmed around, unable to keep still under the ministrations along my inner thigh.

Suddenly I felt his nose skim along my underwear and I gasped as my hips shifted up slightly to meet his mouth.

"May I take these off?" He asked softly as he drew his finger gently along my panties, looking up at my face for permission.

I bit into my lip, knowing that he would have to take them off eventually, but I was still a little nervous about him seeing me down there. I'm sure that it's the only part of my body that he has yet to see.

"Bella? We don't have to do this, you know that right? If you don't want me to do anything, just say _no _and I'll stop without another word." He vowed to me.

"I don't want you to stop, I'm just a little nervous, that's all. You've never seen that part of me before. I don't know if you'll like it. " I admitted shyly.

He smirked a little before working his way back up my body, making sure to rub up against me in a way that made my stomach tighten as he went. I frowned a little, thinking he was going to stop, but then he placed his mouth next to my ear.

"Trust me angel, I love looking at all of you, that includes your pussy." He purred, yes fucking _purred_, in my ear.

I felt my face and chest turning red as he said that word, but that wasn't what surprised me. It was when I felt a flash of heat move through my body and my moan that surprised me.

_Who knew I'd like Edward saying things like that?_

"You like it when I say _pussy_?" He breathed just the word pussy, but his tone held a bit surprise.

I nodded my head.

"Hmmm… that'll be good to remember…." He remarked, sliding down, this time stopping at my nipples again.

_Oh please don't start all over again, I don't think I can take it. _

He must have been a mind reader, because he only placed one warm, opened mouth kiss on each of my nipples, his tongue peaked out to taste, before resuming his place between my legs.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked me again.

I sucked in a breath and shook my head. "Keep going, I'm ready now."

Edward pushed his fingers under the sides of my underwear and started to slide them down my legs, inch by tortures inch.

Finally, I felt the material lose contact with my skin and saw Edward tossing them off the bed out of the corner of my eye.

Out of instinct and embarrassment I clamped my legs together.

Edward didn't say anything, just put his hands on either sides of my calves and started skimming up my legs until his hands met my hips.

"Relax angel, I won't do anything that you don't want. There's nothing to worry about. It's just going to be what we've already done, let me make you feel good…" He soothed, nuzzling my stomach.

I relaxed at his words. He was right, this wasn't too different from what he'd already done and I knew more than anything that Edward would never hurt me. I opened my legs a little, just enough for him to fit his hand.

He continued laying kisses along my stomach, his hand slowing inching from my hip, getting lower. When his fingers brushed over my curls and stopped, I bucked my hips into his hand, nearly desperate for more.

I felt him smile against my bellybutton and he dipped his hand lower into my heat, probing gently through my folds. His fingertips hit my clit and I gasped, unable to keep my hips from bucking up.

"That good angel?" He whispered against my navel, not stopping his fingers as they continued to circle my clit in slow, leisurely movements.

"Oh… Edward…" I panted. Those were the only words my mouth would form.

He kissed and nipped the skin on my navel, getting lower and lower until he'd reached my curls. I tensed slightly, not sure how I felt about his mouth being down _there _and he noticed it.

"It's alright Bella. I promise it won't hurt. Let me make you feel good." Edward said, his lips moving against my skin in a very persuading manner. His fingers never stopped moving against me.

I couldn't think straight, every thought concentrated on the way his fingers were working me.

_Why the hell not? _

Edward wouldn't hurt me and he _is _the more experienced one here, he'd know more than me what girls like, sadly.

I ignored the flare of jealously at that thought and nodded my head at him. "Okay."

I tried to relax and ignore the slight embarrassment as he pulled his fingers away from me and replaced it with his mouth. I jerked off the bed and my hands went to Edwards' hair, pulling on his locks.

"Edward!" I nearly shouted.

I heard him snicker from between my legs and he kissed the inside of my thigh.

"It's not funny, you could have warned me it would feel like _that_." I huffed. I wasn't angry, just surprised and not liking being caught off guard. Although, if he keeps this up, I might forgive him…

"Well let me make it up to you, angel." He mumbled against my thigh and without waiting for a reply, flattened his tongue and licked along my slit, making me groan.

His fingers spread me open gently and his tongue dove in, making hot, wet circles around my clit. I panted and tried to push my hips up for more, but his other arm came up and draped across my stomach, holding me down.

Edwards' mouth was relentless; circling, licking, and sucking until I was crying out and nearly tearing his hair out. His tongue moved from my clit to a little lower to my opening and traced around it.

I whimpered out of need and frustration that I wasn't getting my release as quickly as the last two times, it seemed that he wanted to draw this out.

He plunged his tongue into me and brought his thumb up to rub my clit at the same time, the combination bringing me an inch away from the edge of release, almost teasing me in a way.

"More, please Edward… more." I begged him.

He hummed against my opening and pushed his tongue even deeper, frantically plunging in and out of me. I looked down at him the best I could and what I saw ended up being my undoing.

His dark green eyes staring up at me, watching my every move and expression. That paired with the magic his tongue and fingers were working on me, made every nerve ending in my body heat up and explode, starting from between my legs. My head tilted back into the pillows as I let out a little scream. My eyes rolled back in my head and my body felt like it was on fire. I faintly felt my thighs clasp Edwards' head but I couldn't find it in me to be worried about it.

"Edward, Edward, Edward….." Was the only coming out of my mouth and even that was slurred.

After my body spasmed for what felt like forever and the waves of heat and pleasure ebbing, I relaxed into a puddle of goo on the bed, panting and sweating, mumbling Edwards' name over and over.

Edwards' lips made their way up my body, stopping to kiss me tenderly. I could taste something different about him and it took a second for my slower mind to realize that it's _me _I'm tasting. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I shouldn't like this, but the truth was I didn't really mind it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the greatest taste in the world, it was tangy and salty, almost like when you'd get a mouthful of salt water, but Edwards' tongue doing things with my own made up for it.

He pulled away from my mouth and attached his lips to my pulse point.

"So beautiful, you're perfect." I could hear him mumbling.

"Edward, are we going to…" I asked once I'd regained the ability to.

He looked up at me with hungry eyes, but I could tell he was holding himself back for me.

"Do you still want to Bella?" He asked quietly.

"I want to. I want to do this with you Edward, I'm sure." I told him, running my fingers through his hair.

"Alright." He acquiesced and kissed me again.

Edward reached down and slid his boxers off, the only thing left separating us, and kicked them off.

I was suddenly very nervous. I'd never seen a guys… cock before, it was only just a few minutes ago that I'd felt one for the first time. I peeked down at him and gasped, my eyes widening at what I saw. I was right in my earlier assumption; to be blunt, Edward a huge cock. I wasn't an expert or anything, but weren't they supposed to be smaller? Like five or six inches at best? Edward looked more like eight or nine inches and was really big around.

That thing was _not _going to fit in me. Was it?

"Edward?" I squeaked, panicking a little.

"What angel?" He asked, searching my face.

"Is that… is that going to fit?" I asked nervously.

He chuckled and brushed the hair out of my face. "It'll fit, don't worry. And I'll be gentle, I swear, but if you want to stop you can tell me at anytime, remember. I won't _ever _hurt you intentionally."

I took a deep breath and nodded, reassured by his words. He stretched across the bed and opened the bedside drawer, digging through it for something. I was about to ask him what he was looking for when he pulled out a condom.

He saw the look on my face and rushed to explain why he had condoms in his drawer.

"I buy some new ones every few months just incase… Can we not talk about that? It's not important." He winced.

"It's okay, I was just curious." I grinned at him.

He ripped open the package and pulled the condom out, rolling it onto his cock. I couldn't look at it for more than a few seconds at a time because I'd get worried all over again.

Once he put the condom on, Edward situated himself between my thighs, nudging them open wider with his hands until his hips were resting comfortably between them. One of his hands rested against my thigh and the other was being used to hold himself off of me next to my head. His fingers would brush against my cheek, trying to calm me.

"Are you sure about this angel?" Edward asked softly, giving me a chance to back out.

"I'm sure Edward." I breathed out.

"You do know that this is going to hurt a little at first." He warned me.

"I know, just get that part over with quick please." I'd heard that it would hurt some my first time, Renee had explained that to me once in her half-ass attempt at a sex talk when I was thirteen.

I felt the tip of his cock brush my entrance and I tensed, unable to help it.

"Relax…" Edward cooed in my ear, rubbing my leg. I did as he said and a minute later I felt him move forward a little more, into me, stretching me little by little. He stopped he saw my face scrunch up and he froze.

"Are you still okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Just do the painful part so it can be over." I said, wanting this uncomfortable feeling to go away and the pleasure I knew was waiting for me to begin.

"Very romantic Bella, you sure do know how to make a man feel wanted." He teased, flashing a grin.

I smiled and realized that he'd made me relax, it was probably his plan all along. He leaned down and captured my lips, his tongue swiped along my lower lip and suddenly I felt him thrust into me and a sharp, burning pain explode between my legs. I pulled away from him and cried out, throwing my hands up automatically against his chest and tried to push him off me, but he wouldn't budge.

"Shhh... shhh… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry angel. It'll be over soon, I promise." He apologized over and over again, trying to calm me. He pressed kisses all over my face; my forehead, my cheeks, my nose, my jaw.

I didn't know I was crying until Edward's fingers brushed over my cheek and saw they were wet. I sucked in a breath and tried to calm down and at least stop the tears from falling.

After a couple minutes, the burning started to turn into a dull ache and I lowered my hands from Edwards' chest, instead resting them on his shoulders. I finally took notice of Edwards' face; he was biting into his lip, much like I did, and his eyebrows were drawn together and he looked almost like he was in pain. But his eyes held something else; they were dark, but I could see the concern and sadness in them. He was studying my face like it was the most fascinating thing on earth. His face was flushed pink and he was breathing fast and deep. His left hand griping the pillow beside my head.

"Alright… I think I'm okay now." I told him.

"I'm so sorry Bella, god, I didn't think it would hurt you that much, but you're so little and tight." He sounded so guilty. It wasn't his fault, it was like that for all women the first time. Although, I'm guessing his size didn't help matters any.

I cupped his face in my hand. "It's fine Edward, sure it hurt like hell, but I'm fine now and I won't ever have to feel that again. Right?"

"Right." He confirmed. "I can move now?" He asked, sounding like he was in pain.

"Go ahead." I told him.

He pulled back slowly, making sure to watch my face as he did so to check for any sign that I was in pain. Once he was almost all the way out, he pushed back into me. This time didn't hurt so much, but there was still that uncomfortable stretched feeling.

Edwards' eyes clenched shut as his hips became flush with mine and I could tell he was trying to stifle a moan.

"Bella…?" He breathed out, trying to ask if I was okay.

"Keep going." I told him.

He pulled back again and thrust into me a little faster this time, making me gasp when I felt an electric feeing surge through me. Now I was starting to get what this was all about.

"You feel so good angel, so good." He mumbled against my mouth before kissing me.

"Do it again Edward, please. It's starting to feel good and not hurt anymore." I told him, arching my back so that my breasts melded with his chest.

He did as I asked, pulling out and plunging into me, faster, but still being gentle and mindful of me. For some reason that just turned me on even more.

I raked my fingernails down his back, he seemed to like it, growling and arching his back into my hands as he thrust into me again.

"Oh, Edward…!" I moaned into his shoulder as the friction started to build. I wrapped my legs around his hips and secured him to me, making his stokes reach even deeper, hitting a spot that made me cry out and shift my hips up to meet his.

He panted above me and his arm shot out to grip the headboard to steady himself over me so his other hand could wander my body more freely. His free hand traveled from my thigh up over my hip and across my stomach, tracing up along my ribs until he reached my breast and brushed the underside of it, all the while setting a steady, gentle rhythm within me.

As he thrust into me I could faintly hear the headboard banging against the wall over my head but I didn't care, instead focusing on the heat and electricity coursing through my body at Edwards' every touch and movement.

"Edward… This… I…" I couldn't even form a freaking sentence.

His hand was concentrated on my breast, kneading it softly as his thumb ghosted over my nipple, making it harder for him. Edwards' lips brushed my cheek until he was at my ear.

"Does this… feel good, angel?" He mumbled before taking my earlobe between his lips and sucking tentatively, testing my reaction.

It seemed that he found something else I liked.

"Yes, yes, yes." I rushed out, completely breathless. I was referring to both the sex and what his mouth was doing.

By now I was clawing at his back and my hips were uncontrollable, matching his thrusts with my own. My head was thrown back into the pile of pillows and I couldn't stop the moans and whimpers coming from my mouth.

Edward released the headboard and instead used his arm to slide under me and wrap around my back, bringing me closer to him, melding every inch of us together. A layer of sweat covered both of us, making us slide together, giving my nipples much needed friction against his chest.

After a minute, he lifted up about an inch and I felt his hand moving from my breast back the way it had traveled, down my ribs and stomach, but it didn't stop, going lower into my curls until his fingertips were gliding over my clit, magnifying everything in my body.

"Come on angel, can you cum for me?" He whispered against my neck, rubbing my clit in time with his thrusts.

The words made my eyes roll back and I shivered. God I loved it when he talked like that.

Something was building and building and it wasn't stopping at a certain point like it had before, it kept on climbing.

"Edward… I don't…" I was confused. Thanks to Edward, I had already orgasmed a few times before, but this… this was different. This was something else entirely and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"It's okay, just let it happen, it'll feel good. Trust me, Bella, I'm right here, I won't let anything bad happen to you." He assured me, nuzzling my throat.

His words soothed me and I relaxed in his arms, letting everything rush over me. I felt his every thrust into me, every inch of him filling me, stretching me, completing me.

"Ung… Bella… are you close?" Edward moaned above me. I could tell he was holding himself back from his release, but I wasn't sure if I was close enough to my own yet.

"I don't know… I don't know…" I whimpered.

As soon as I said that, Edwards' head dipped down to my breasts and took a nipple in his mouth, sucking sharply and flicking his tongue across it. His fingers picked up their pace on my clit and the hand under my back moved up to my neck and his thumb rubbed up and down my throat. All of this together with his powerful and gentle thrusts became too much for my body and mind to handle.

My entire body shuddered and my eyes shut on their own accord, I was seeing stars behind my lids, my body arched into his and tightened.

"E-Edward!" I yelled out incoherently, gripping onto him for dear life with my arms and legs wrapped around him. I could feel myself convulsing around his cock and Edwards' muscles flexed, holding himself up.

He pushed into me about three more times before he stilled, his hips flush against mine, brushing over my very sensitive clit. He froze, then shook over me and yelled out my name. I opened my eyes again just in time to see his head thrown back and his face scrunched up in pleasure, biting into his lip and moaning.

His arms gave out and he collapsed on me, but somehow he wasn't crushing me, at least not too much. His weight felt good on me. I could feel his hot breaths on my neck and I couldn't stop panting into his hair myself.

_Oh god, what was _that_? _

I think I died and went to heaven for a while.

Edward started pushing himself off me but I grabbed a hold of his forearm and stopped him.

"Please don't get up yet." I pleaded weakly.

"I was just going to get something to clean us off with. I'll be right back, angel." He ran his nose along my cheekbone and rolled off of me, sitting on the side of the bed for a moment before standing up. He disappeared inside the bathroom and then came back out with a wet washcloth in hand.

Climbing back into bed with me he knelt between my knees and gently swiped the warm cloth over me, making me hum and blush a little.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled. It felt good, but I didn't know why he was doing it.

"Does it feel nice?" He asked.

I nodded.

"It's for a couple of reasons; to clean you up a little and to help with the soreness." He explained.

"Clean me up?" Forgive me, but my brain was still fuzzy from the amazing orgasm I'd just had.

"You're a little um… bloody down there, angel." He said as he threw the cloth across the room toward the bathroom.

I blushed and covered my face with my hands, mortified that I hadn't realized this sooner and stopped Edward from going anywhere near there.

He laid down beside me and pulled me close to him. I snuggled into his bare chest to hide my embarrassment.

"Bella, you don't need to be ashamed, it's natural, you were a virgin, it was going to be like that no matter what." Pulling my hands away from my face, he brought them up to his lips and kissed my palms.

"I could have cleaned that up myself." I grumbled.

"I want to take care of you Bella. I am the one that did it, I should be the one to help make it better." He murmured into my hair.

Satisfied with his answer and less embarrassed, my eyelids started to flutter, I was exhausted.

"Do you feel okay? Does anything hurt? Was I too rough?" Edward asked nervously.

I smiled into his chest.

"Nothing hurts Edward, I'm just a little sore. And you were perfect, everything was perfect, I loved it." I reassured him sleepily.

He relaxed and encircled me in his arms after he reached down to pull the sheets over us.

I was floating in and out of consciousness when I heard his whispered words.

"I love you."


	16. Chapter 16

**WARNING: Edward is a little bit of an asshole in this one and Bella overreacts slightly. Well, maybe she doesn't… I don't know, you decide.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT! *Sad panda face***

* * *

**EPOV**

Fuck.

Did I just say '_I love you' _to her?

I think I did.

Not that I don't mean it, because I do, I just didn't want her to think I was saying it because I felt obligated. After all she did just give her virginity to me, there should have been at least one _I love you _in there somewhere. But because I'm an asshole and didn't say it _before _we sleep together, I have to say it _after_, when she'll think I'm just blissed out and it slipped out by accident without it meaning anything or she's going to think I had to say it out of obligation or something.

I freeze, waiting for her to say or do something; freak out, pretend like she didn't hear me, or say it back.

"Edward, I… I love you too." I heard her whisper.

She sounded hesitant and it seemed like forever before she said it, so you know what I did?

I turned into a jackass and ignored her, pretending I had fallen asleep.

It was a full minute before I felt her shift in my arms, probably looking up at my face.

"Edward?" She whispered.

I kept my eyes shut and tried to breathe evenly. After a while, she shifted again and I felt her snuggle into my chest and fall asleep. I soon followed her, feeling like the biggest asshole on earth, but it saved us both from a very embarrassing moment.

I did the right thing… I hope.

**~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~**

I felt something soft and warm squirming around in my arms and I grunted.

What the fu-

Memories of last night came flooding back to me. Our date, Bella telling me she wanted to make love with me, us making love.

God, that was amazing. I was completely surprised when Bella said she wanted to make love. I was so worried that she's regret it, that I wouldn't be good enough for her, that she'd realize it was a mistake and leave.

Making love with Bella was the most magnificent experience of my life. It was made so much better knowing that she trusted me enough for her first time to be with me. I had tried to make it as wonderful as possible for her, and judging by the ways she reacted last night, I had succeeded, but it still killed me to hurt her like I had, whether it was inevitable or not.

I nearly broke down when I saw tears streaming down her face, all I could do was apologize over and over again, meaning every single word of it. After that, I was determined to make it up to her, to make her feel amazing. And I did.

I couldn't help but feel some male pride when I felt her pussy clenching around my cock and her voice yelling out my name in pleasure. I couldn't remember ever feeling _anything _like I'd felt last night when I was in Bella. It was like heaven.

Call me cheesy, call me whipped, call me any name in the damn book, I didn't care because I had Bella with me.

I opened my eyes, squinting in the sunlight coming through the window, and saw Bella in my arms, curled into my chest. Her hair was scattered across my shoulder and pillow, her hand resting against my abs and our legs were tangled together in the sheets.

This was how I wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of my life.

She started moving around again and buried her face further into my chest, mumbling things I couldn't make out.

I moved, trying to get out of bed and into the bathroom without waking Bella up and her seeing my…uh…morning wood. I didn't want Bella to think I was a horny perv wanting to get back in her pants, so to speak.

I managed to untangle my legs from hers and slide out of bed, gently laying her back down and covering her up with the sheet all the way. I snatched my boxers off the floor so I wouldn't be walking around naked and made my way to the bathroom.

Closing the door, I turned to the mirror, leaning against the vanity and looking at myself.

My hair was even more of a mess than usual thanks to Bella's fingers. I'm not complaining. I noticed that there were long pink scratches running down my chest, arms and back.

I smirked. It seems my little angel has claws.

I turned on and climbed into the shower, unfortunately having to wash the smell of Bella off me. All the while, I'm thinking of ways to fix what happened last night after the amazing sex. I should probably give her some space. Girls needed space when they wanted to think about things, right?

I got it; I'll go into work for a few hours, give Bella some time to herself to think about things and we could talk about it tonight. I felt a little bad about leaving Bella on her own all day, but then I remember that she's got Alice and Rose to spend some time with.

There; not only does she get space from me, but she gets some girl time as well.

Lathering my hair up with shampoo and rinsing it, I quickly wash the rest of me off and get out. I never understood why girls need to take forever in the shower. Growing up with Alice, she spent almost forty minutes in there, doing god knows what. I needed ten minutes, not counting the five minutes it takes me to shave at the sink. I don't count that.

I made sure the white fluffy towel was secured around my waist and carefully peeked out from the door, seeing that Bella was still sleeping soundly, and tip-toed out to my dresser, collecting the clothes I need for work and walked back to the bathroom to get dressed.

I pulled on the black dress slacks and the charcoal grey button up shirt, forgoing the tie. I really hated those things, I felt like I was choking whenever I wore one. Checking again in the mirror that my hair wasn't too crazy and I didn't need to shave, satisfied that it was fine, I went into my room, ready to wake Bella up to tell her I'm leaving for a while.

_Or should I be even more of a coward than I'm being already and just leave her a note?_

Shut up annoying inner voice, you're not helping.

I looked to the clock and the little neon red numbers read that it was already 11:04am. I could still go into the office, get some paperwork done, check up on everything and make sure things are running smoothly. Emmett had gone in the other day for a while, just to check on things and he said everything was going fine. Owning your company outright had its advantages, going in whenever you wanted to was one of them. If there was an emergency, Em or I would get a call.

I turned around, ready to wake her up, but saw I was too late. She was sitting up in bed with the sheet wrapped tightly around her, her hair was tangled around her face in an adorable way, she was squinting her eyes together and staring at me.

"Is something wrong?" She asked worriedly, obviously noting that I was dressed and getting ready for something.

"Nothing is wrong." I replied.

She looked at me skeptically and I turned away from her accessing eyes, ashamed at what I was going to have to say to her.

"Edward…" She started off nervously. "Are we going to talk about what you said la-"

"I have to go into work." I cut her off more stiffly than I intended to.

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. The look on her face was awful, making me want to close the space between us and fall to my knees before her.

"Work? You have to go to work?" She asked me. I could hear the tears in her voice that she was trying to hide.

"Yes, I've neglected going in the past few days. I need to check up on some things, I'll be back later, maybe in time for dinner." I said, running my hand through my hair one last time.

"Oh." Bella breathes out and I feel instantly guilty. Now she's going to think that I've been ignoring the outside world because of her. Well, I kind of have been, but it's not her fault, I just didn't want to go in when I could be spending my days with Bella.

"You can go over to Em's for breakfast and lunch if you want, he'll probably be expecting you anyway." I told her.

She didn't look at me, just nodded down at the sheets.

I hesitated walking to the door, seeing Bella like this was killing me, but we both needed some time away from each other to think about things.

"I'll call you later. Bye." I said, walking out the door and shutting it firmly behind me.

**BPOV**

What did I do?

Last night everything was perfect, but now Edward was acting coldly and told me he was going to work and walked out the door without looking back at me.

I was stunned.

I'd never known Edward to act so… cold. At least not act that way to me. It was like he didn't even care about me and was trying to get out as fast as possible.

He didn't even ask me how I felt. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect him to be fawning all over me, but a "Good morning" or "Are you alright?" would have been nice. But instead I get a "I'm going to work, bye."

I feel a little used.

He pays me every attention in the world for days, but the morning after we sleep together, he barely looks at me and won't even touch me. I thought last night was amazing and special and we'd wake up and Edward and I could at least talk about it. After all, he did say '_I love you_' and I said it back to him, but maybe he hadn't heard me. When I looked up at his face, he was fast asleep. Did he hear me say it back to him?

Then an awful thought hit me… Was he avoiding me because it slipped out and he didn't mean it and was freaking because he'd heard me say it?

Oh god this was such a freaking mess.

It took everything in me to not think that I was now just trash to toss to the side to Edward. No matter how cold he was to me, he wouldn't think that, right?

I remember Alice talking about all the women he had once slept with. Maybe I was right in the first place, maybe I was just another one of Edward's conquests and now that he's had me, I don't mean anything.

I have to go see Alice, she'll help me.

I climbed out of bed, which I found out was difficult considering the soreness between my legs. Hobbling into the bathroom, I showered and gently checked between my legs the best I could. I wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still burned a little, especially when I walked.

Drying off and not bothering with my hair, I picked out a comfortable pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt and practically ran (as fast as I could without being in too much pain) out of the house in my need to talk to Alice or Rose.

I needed a shoulder to cry on and blabber on about this. A part of me knew I might be overreacting and it was nothing, but I desperately needed some reassurance and a second opinion.

I glance out at the water and was reminded of last night and smiled, but winced when I remembered the part of last night that led me to being here in the first place.

_I love you. _

Opening the door, I walked straight into the living room to see Emmett and Jasper sitting on the large squishy couch with game controllers in their hands.

"Hey Bell-" Emmett started to holler before he saw the look on my face.

"Is Rose or Alice here, Em." I asked quietly.

"What's wrong, sugar?" Jasper asked me, ignoring my question.

"I just need to talk to Alice and Rose." I insisted.

He and Emmett both gave me a look, but answered my question.

"They're both out back on the deck." Em told me.

I nodded in thanks and made my way to the back of the house until I reached the back door, opening it slowly to reveal Alice and Rose sitting in chairs, laying out and enjoying the sunshine.

"Bella! What's wrong?" Alice exclaims as she turns to see me.

That was it, I couldn't hold it in any longer; I let the tears fall unchecked.

"A-Alice, he just l-left." I cried.

"What?" She asked, shock and confusion written all over her face.

"I woke up and he was dressed, told me he was going to work and walked out." I explained through my tears.

"I'll kill him." Rose growled from the other chair.

"Bella, I know this might sound kind of intrusive, but this might be important to this conversation… did you and Edward… sleep together last night?" Alice asked, ignoring Rose's remark.

I turned red and nodded my head slowly.

"No, I won't kill him; I'll cut his dick off." Rose snarled and stormed into the house.

Alice and I both watched her as she went, both of use knew better than to try to stop her.

"There's something else…" I mumbled.

"What sweetie?" She asked gently.

"Last night, after… you know, I heard him say 'I love you'." I admitted.

She gasped and her eyes widened to the size of Texas.

"He said that he loves you? And then leaves the second you wake up the next morning!" She screeched.

I cried all the harder at hearing her say it out loud.

"Oh Alice, I just don't understand what I did wrong." I sobbed to her.

"You did _nothing_ wrong Bella, it's Edwards' fault for acting like an insensitive asshole." Alice said, rubbing my arms. She was trying to calm me, but I could hear the rage in her voice, most likely aimed at Edward.

"Maybe I was just another challenge to him. Now that I've slept with him he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. I knew it was all too good to be true." I was rambling now but I didn't care, I needed to get it all out.

"Don't you dare say that, Bella. This is not about you being trash, _you are not trash_, this is about Edward being a douche and not caring about your feelings." She insisted, grabbing me and pulling me to her in a hug.

She just held me for a few more minutes, letting me get it all out. I heard the door sliding open and turned a little to look who was there; Jasper.

"Alice darlin', would you mind if I talked to Bella for a minute?" He asked. Alice turned to me and asked me silently, I nodded my head.

"Alright, I'll be right inside of you want me." She said and got up, firmly closing the door behind her.

I wiped my eyes and looked up to Jasper.

"Oh sugar. That man really is clueless isn't he?" He mumbled to himself, sitting down next to me in Alice's empty chair.

"I was so stupid Jasper. I let him sleep with me and now he won't even look at me." I said, biting into my lip to stop it from quivering.

"You are not stupid; Edward is. He's the one that can't deal with his feelings the right way." He tsked.

"What do you mean by that?" I sniffled.

"Forgive me, but I heard a little bit of what you and Alice were saying; he told you that he loved you last night, correct?" He asked and I nodded.

"I told him that I love him back and when he didn't answer me, I looked and saw that he was asleep. Then this morning he just says he's going to work and that he might be back in time for dinner." I explained more.

"Do you?" Jasper asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"Do I what?" I asked, not sure what he was talking about. My head hurt so much and I was so confused.

"Do you really love him like you said, or were you just saying it back because he said it?" He clarified.

"I said it to him because I meant it, I still mean it. I probably would have told him later on if he hadn't have said it before me." I told him.

"That's the problem. See, Edward and I have known each other for a long time; I'm pretty good at knowing what's going on in his crazy, ass backwards mind. He really does love you, anyone can see that, even Rose can't deny it, but he probably didn't want it to slip out right then and when you said it back to him, he convinced himself that you didn't mean it, that you were just saying it to make things less awkward. He most likely just rushed out of the house so he'd have more time to think things over. He didn't mean to hurt your feelings, sugar." The entire time Jasper is saying this, my eyes widen more and more in understanding.

Oh god he's right, it was _so _Edward.

I was going to punch him right in the damn face when he gets home. How dare he assume things about my feelings? How did he know what I truly felt? And even when I told him, he thought I was _lying_.

I'd gone from sobbing to pissed off in about five seconds. I stood up so abruptly that Jasper jerked back in his chair.

"Thank you Jasper. Excuse me while I go make a phone call." I muttered angrily.

Jasper snickered and mumbled under his breath something that sounded like '_'Bout fucking time someone put him in his place.'_

Throwing open the sliding door, I stormed through the house much like Rose and froze when I saw her on the phone, gesturing violently into the air and hissing into the phone. I thought I heard her say something along the lines of what she said outside, but I couldn't be sure.

I'd bet a thousand dollars that I know exactly who's on the other end of the line.

Walking up to her, I tapped her softly on the shoulder, belaying my anger.

"Can I talk to the asshole?" I ask politely.

She smirked and passed the phone to me without a word.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, if you don't get your assuming ass back here in an hour, I won't be here." I said coldly and snidely into the phone. I was _way _past the point of being nice anymore.

I heard him gasp loudly from the other end before I hung up and tossed the phone back on the counter as lightly as I could.

Rose didn't say anything, just smiled and shook her head.

"Here Bella, Carlisle gave me some more bandages for your cut. Will you sit down for a minute while I change them?" Alice came up to me and asked. My hand involuntarily reached up to my neck, feeling the bandage there that I'd forgotten and realized that it was wet from my shower minutes ago.

"Sure Alice." I said simply, sitting down on one of the stools and let her do her work. Alice was surprisingly quick and skilled with changing it, almost as much as Carlisle was.

"Carlisle taught all of us the basics when we were younger, just incase something happened and he wasn't there to take care of it himself. I've gotten very good at it." She explained, seeing my curiosity.

Once she was finished, I hopped down from the stool and choked on my own breath and winced.

_Ohhh bad idea, it's still sore between my legs. _

"I'm going to go back to the house and wait for him there." I said when I'd regained my breath.

"Okay, call if you need anything. Emmett will hold him down for you." She winked.

"Thanks. I'm sure I can handle it myself." I smiled at her. I do love Rose, she reminds me other big sister I always wanted, but unfortunately never had. The closest thing to an older sibling I had was Riley and well…

I gasped and walked quickly back to the deck, Jasper was still sitting in the chair I'd left him in and appeared to be reading some sort of magazine.

"Jasper?" I asked timidly.

He looked up at me and squinted in the sunlight.

"Yeah sugar?" He responded in the southern accent that came very close to my favorite, behind Edwards' voice of course.

"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did yesterday, with Riley. I probably wouldn't be alive if you hadn't have killed him." I thanked him sincerely, fidgeting with my fingers.

"You say it like there was really a choice. Did you think that I'd stand there and let him kill you?" He asked.

"Well no… but still, I just wanted to thank you." I blushed. "By the way, what did you do with the… um… the body?" I whispered the last part.

"Don't worry about that sugar, Em and I took care of it, no one will be finding it." He answered cryptically.

I stared at him wide eyed, wondering what the hell these people were really into. Edward going all Rambo on Marcus and his men and now Jasper shooting and killing Riley, then hiding his body where no one can find it. I knew they all ran a very popular and successful company together, but I'd seen The Sopranos and watched General Hospital, most businesses were just covers for the mob. Right now they were acting very mob like.

I didn't know whether or not that was the case, but still, not wanting to get my knee caps broken for sticking my nose in places it didn't belong, I thanked Jasper once again and left, only stopping briefly to say goodbye to everyone else.

**~*~*~*~*~*SIL~*~*~*~*~*~**

Curling up on the couch and hugging a pillow to my chest, I turned on the T.V and waited for Edward to get home.

It amazes me how there's seven thousand channels and there's still nothing worth watching. Out of frustration I finally stopped on CNN. Anderson Cooper was on and I always thought he was the coolest and best looking of all the newscasters. Angela and I use to call him 'The Silver Fox'.

Angela… I'd have to call her and Jess sometime soon, along with my mom.

I got immersed in CNN, listening to Anderson talk about something to do with the upcoming presidential campaign, I didn't care too much about it, but once again; it was The Silver Fox. The next thing I knew, I heard the front door creak open slowly, like Edward was afraid of what he was going to find inside. Footsteps followed and I finally saw him as he rounded the corner into the living room.

He looked horrible; dark circles under his eyes, his hair was even more of a mess than usual and the look on his face as his eyes frantically darted around the room made me feel a twinge of guilt for saying what I did to him over the phone, but quickly pushed it away. For some reason, I was determined to be angry about this. He needs to know that he can't just assume all these things about my feelings.

Edwards' eyes finally land on me and I turn away.

"Bella…" I hear his whisper.

"You ruined it." I blurted out, unable to keep the tears from my voice and my back still turned to him.

"What did I ruin, angel?" He asked desperately, walking closer to me.

"Last night… It was perfect, everything I ever could have wanted for _that_. But then when I woke up and you were dressed and all you said to me was that you were going to work, didn't ask if I was alright, didn't even look at me, and then just walked out the door." God I was being such a girl. I hated it that I was crying over something like this, I knew I was overreacting slightly, but I couldn't help it.

Edward dropped to his knees next to me and wrapped his arms around me and I tensed, not wanting to feel his warmth, his tenderness, knowing that I wouldn't stay angry at him if I did. I wanted to be angry, I had a right to.

He ignored the obvious change in my body and continued to hold me tightly.

"No, no, no…" He mumbled into my hair. "I'm so sorry angel. I was just trying to give you some time to think about things. I never meant for you to feel like that."

"Jasper said it was something like that. But it only makes me angrier. You assumed that when I said I loved you last night that I was just saying it because you did, that there was absolutely no meaning behind it at all. I never would have said it if I didn't mean it." I told him.

"Wait… You meant it?" He whispered, pulling away from my head to stare into my watery eyes.

"Of course I meant it! After you left, I thought you didn't mean it." I said.

Silence followed, neither of us knowing what to say after that. I was still angry with him, but seeing how haggard and sorry he looked made me soften a bit, much to my annoyance.

"Will you please forgive me, angel? I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to be like this, I was only trying to give you some space." He pleaded after a couple minutes.

"Edward… If you had believed in what I told you, you wouldn't have needed to _'give me space'_. I didn't want space! I wanted to wake up to the man that I love in bed next to me, not running out the door! I just… I didn't know if I can forgive you yet, I need to calm down. _This _is when you give me space." I wriggled out of his arms and burrowed into the couch, tilting my head down.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, making me angrier because that made me want to reach over and do that myself.

"Are you… are you alright? You know with everything… down there." He stuttered out.

I threw a pillow at his head. "I can't believe you're asking that _now_! Just leave Edward!"

"What? I don't fucking get it! First you're angry because I didn't ask you this morning and you get upset when I ask you now! I'm just trying to make this better! I was just doing what I thought was right. I never meant to make you angry or feel bad!" He yelled at me.

My eyes widened and I shrunk back from him, startled by the volume of his voice and how close he was to me, his hands waving around. My lip started to quiver and I kept chanting in my head _'don't cry, don't cry, don't cry'_ but it wasn't working well.

Unwanted tears escaped my eyes and Edward took notice, seeing how I was shrinking back from him and my wide teary eyes, his face looked pained and he started to panic.

"Oh no, oh god no, Bella please don't cry, please. I didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm such a dumbass, please don't cry angel." He pleaded to me, cupping my face in-between his hands.

I tried to turn my head away, hating that he was seeing me cry, but he wouldn't let me, holding my head firmly in place.

"I was just so afraid that you wouldn't be here when I got back. I didn't mean to take it out on you." He continued on, wiping my face tenderly, trying to get past my tears. I felt a wave of guilt crash over me as I remembered threatening him with leaving if he didn't come back. That was underhanded.

"I'm s-sorry." I choked through my tears.

"Oh angel, please, please don't be sorry about anything. All of this is my fault, I'm sorry for yelling like that, I deserve every single thing that you said to me. God Bella, I… I thought that you didn't mean it and that you were only saying it to make me happy. When I left this morning, I just wanted to give you some time to make sure you were sure about what you said before we seriously talked about it, I never meant to make you feel like that. I was so stupid thinking it though, I should know by now that when you say something you mean it." He apologized hurriedly, never once letting go of me.

I sniffed and wiped my face, trying to get rid of the embarrassing tears.

"I'm acting like such a girl, I'm sorry." I mumbled.

He chuckled a little. "You have a reason to act like a girl; the guy you love was being an idiot."

I smiled at that and shook my head, trying to clear it.

"What's all that?" I asked, gesturing to a couple of bags he had dropped on the floor when he came in. I had another motive; to change the subject and decrease the tension in the room.

"Oh, I had my assistant go out and get you a few things so you wouldn't have to keep borrowing off of Rose and Alice, know you hate doing it." He explained before getting up and carried the bag over to me. I opened it and saw a hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, a loofah, razors, hair ties, some make-up and I even spotted a few pairs of new bras and panties. Looking at the tags, I could tell they were from Victoria's Secret, but I didn't see a price. Although that was probably a good thing; I might keel over if I saw Edward had paid anymore than thirty dollars, which I was positive that he had.

"Thank you, Edward. I never knew how much I would miss having body lotion and underwear." I tried to lighten the mood.

"Come on angel, I'll run you a hot bath, like I should have done this morning." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes like it normally did.

"But I already took a shower earlier." I protested.

"That's a shower, I want you to sit and relax in a bath. It'll help with your soreness. Trust me?" He said the last part as more of a question and his face was sad, it broke my heart a little that he thought I wouldn't trust him.

I took his outstretched hand without another word and followed him into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed while he went in and started the bath.

Listening to the water run, I thought about what Edward said. Underneath it all, his intensions were good, but he went about it in a totally wrong way. I guess I couldn't be too mad at him now that he'd explained things to me, but I still couldn't get over the cold indifference he showed me earlier. It scared me that he could just flip a switch like that.

The water shut off and Edward came back into the room.

"It's ready, you can go ahead and go in, and I'll be out in the living room." He said a little dejectedly.

"Thank you." I said as I walked past him into the bathroom and shut the door behind me.

Steam was rising out of the water filled tub in a way that beckoned me to sit in it for hours. Edward had taken the bag in with him and set out the body wash, the loofah and a razor beside the tub. I smiled at his actions and started stripping my clothes off carefully.

I sunk into the hot water with a sigh and tilted my head back against the little headrest pad thingy on the back.

Oh god… Edward was right about how relaxing taking a bath would be, especially for the throbbing between my legs and the rest of my muscles for that matter.

I didn't know that having sex could be this draining. I stretched out in the tub, doing absolutely nothing for what felt like at least ten minutes before I started to have other thoughts.

Edward in here… Helping me wash…

Stop it.

Well I could use help washing my back….

_Go for it. _The little voice in my head said. I closed my eyes and only thought about it for another minute before making my decision.

"Edward?" I called out loudly to make sure he could hear me.

I counted six seconds before I heard his voice coming in through the door.

"Yes Bella?"

"Would you… come in here with me?" I asked, blushing as I did.

_Come on Bella, you can do it. You've had sex with him, I think he can come in here when you're in the bathtub_.

Silence came from the other side of the door for a few seconds before the doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing a stressful looking Edward.

"Y- yeah Bella?" He stuttered, looking all around the room except at me. I grinned at him and how he was trying to let me be modest.

I knew how I was going to play this.

"Could you wash my back for me? I can't reach." I said, trying to make it not sound like a line from a porn movie.

His eyes finally landed on me and widened at something he saw.

"Okay." Was all he said before stepping toward me and kneeling beside my head and grabbing the loofah out of my hand.

I leaned forward, bringing my knees up to my chest, so that he could have access to my back and I felt him start brushing the loofah over my back gently, like he was afraid of pushing too hard and hurting me.

"Edward, you can press a bit harder. I won't get very clean if you don't." I turned my head to look back at him and smirked a little.

He bit into his bottom lip like he was about to chew it off and did as I told him, applying a bit more pressure.

I rested my forehead against my knees and held in a moan at the feel of what Edward was doing. Suddenly, it wasn't the loofah that was running along my skin anymore; it was Edwards' warm, rough hands.

I gasped and melted further into the water at the same time and his hand stilled.

"Is this alright?" Edward asked softly from behind me.

"Keep going." Was all I needed to say.

His hand started moving again, gliding up and down my back, dipping lower into the water occasionally and running back up to my shoulders.

I felt him shifting around so that I could see him and he leaned forward tentatively, not sure of my reaction considering our little fight earlier, until his warm lips were pressed against mine. I situated myself in the tub so he could have better access.

"I'm so sorry angel." He murmured against my lips.

I pulled away enough to breathe and look into his eyes. "I forgive you, but don't you ever do something like that again."

"Never again, I swear." He promised. The sincerity of his words and the emotion in his eyes told me he'd live up to his promise. I leaned in to reconnect our lips and moaned as he reached into the water and brushed his thumb over my nipple, making me jerk.

"Don't stop… don't stop…" I gasped against his lips, aching my back and pushing my breasts into his hand.

Edward groaned and pulled away breathing heavily.

"Bella, I don't think we should be doing this right now." He panted.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, if we keep this up it will lead to a repeat of last night." He chuckled. "And I believe that Alice and Rose wanted to take you shopping later today. If we don't stop now, then we'll have to face an angry and determined Alice."

I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. Edward leaned over and brushed his lips over my cheek, down my neck and across my shoulder.

"You're not helping Edward." I muttered sullenly, trying not to smile.

"What if I did help a little?" He murmured huskily.

My breath hitched at the implications of his words.

"What did you have in mind?" I tried to ask seductively, key word here being _tried_.

"I just said that we shouldn't have a repeat of last night, I didn't say that I couldn't help you with….any problems that you might be having." He chuckled against my shoulder, then lowered his hand back to my left breast, massaging it gently and tracing his finger along my nipple.

I leaned back in the tub fully, relaxing and letting him play my body like an instrument. His hand traveled even lower, halting to caress my stomach and hips for a few moments before his fingertips reached my curls and slowly glossed over my clit. My hips automatically tilted further into his hand and fingers, seeking more.

"You're not too sore?" He whispered, his lips working over my neck.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, you were right, the bath has helped."

"Good." He said.

Over the next half an hour, Edward had fingered me into two mind blowing orgasms in the bathtub. He wanted to go for a third, but the water was getting cold and I had to get ready before Alice got here.

I really wanted to go for that third one, too, but I probably wouldn't have been able to stand for the next few hours, let alone go shopping.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*SIL*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

It was only a little after two o'clock when I finished getting ready. I wanted to kiss Edward over and over again for thinking of getting me all these things. I don't know if I could have gone out in public without concealer and my own underwear.

Alice had called Edward a few minutes ago to see if I was ready to leave yet and was on her way over with Rose.

I walked into the living room, wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, black tank top and light cardigan with a pair of black shiny flats Rose let me borrow. Edward was sitting on the couch, but his leg kept shaking and his brow was drawn together.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I sat down next to him, resting my hand on his leg to make it stop moving.

"I just don't like the idea of you going out without me or Em or Jasper if James is still a threat." He said.

My eyes widened at the mention of James. I'd forgotten about him since last night and hadn't thought of the possibility of him still being out there and a potential danger if we even did something as simple as _shopping_.

My lips parted to respond, but a loud knock on the door followed by the swishing of it swinging open silenced me.

"We're coming in! You two better not be doing anything that the little eyes of children couldn't see!" Alice yelled through the house.

I giggled and removed my hand from Edwards' leg just in case. Alice flounced into the room with a very reluctant looking Rose following behind her.

"Shopping! Oh wonderful shopping, you call thy name!" Alice sang, flinging her arms out dramatically and spinning around in a circle.

"See what I meant the other day about her _problems_?" Edward muttered next to me, but loud enough for Alice to hear.

"Oh shut up, like you don't have something that you love." Alice retorted.

Edward glanced over at me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly, relaying a silent message. I smiled widely at him and squeezed his hand right back.

_I love you_.

Our bubble was broke when Alice '_awwwwed'_ and clasped her hands together. My head snapped toward them and caught sight of Rose and saw that she wasn't giving Edward a death glare, but a more accepting expression, being able to tell that we'd worked our problems out and she seemed happy about it. I think it was Rose's way of giving us her blessing.

Edward sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What?" Alice asked simply, obviously knowing when he was worried about something.

"I'd feel better if Em or Jasper went with the three of you." Edward said.

"Come on Edward, nothing will happen, we're just going to a few of the shops around the coast. I want it to be just us girls for a couple hours." Alice pleaded to Edward, pulling out the puppy-dog eyes.

He sighed and scowled down at her, but I could tell he was softening just looking at her.

"Edward, we're big girls, we can take care of ourselves." Rose piped up from beside me. It was the first thing she'd said since she'd been here. She sounded surprisingly nice.

He glanced at her and mumbled something under his breath before returning his gaze to Alice.

"Call one of us when you get to the inland and every hour on the hour until you get on the boat to come back." He relented.

"No problem Mr. Bossy Pants." Alice said, mock saluting him and skipped over to me and Rose.

"I'm serious Alice, James is out there somewhere and I don't like the idea of Bella or the two of you going out there alone." Edward stressed.

"Don't worry, if he comes anywhere near us, Rose will just cut his dick off." I quipped as I winked at Rose, who burst out laughing as Edward turned pink and cringed away, scowling at her.

I thought that's what I heard Rose saying into the phone earlier.

**A/N: **

**Sooooo? Was Edward being an asshole and was Bella justified in her reactions? My pre-reader seemed to think so, she even told me that she was screaming at her computer screen "What the fuck are you doing Edward? You're so stupid!" I like getting that reaction out of people, it means I'm doing my job as a writer. **

**Leave me a review! If you do, Edward will do dirty things to you in the bathtub….**


	17. Chapter 17

**EPOV**

I wasn't comfortable letting Bella go out with only Alice and Rose. Something wasn't right, I felt it in my gut. But one look at Alice's puppy-dog eyes and the knowledge that Bella wanted to do this; that this meant a certain amount of freedom to her, convinced me to let them go.

Why'd I have to be so soft when it came to Bella? What happened to the tough, corporate asshole that didn't care about what anyone thought? One look at Bella and I caved to anything she wanted. It's fucking ridiculous.

Like earlier; I walked into the house and saw Bella curled up in a ball with the saddest look I've ever seen on her face and it literally brought me to my knees in front of her. I wanted to kick myself and so much more when she explained what was wrong. I was such a motherfucking idiot.

And of course I had to be more of an asshole and yell at her, without really meaning to, making her cry and flinch from me. I never felt like more of disgrace in my entire life when I saw my beautiful angel flinching away from me in fear.

Once I'd pretty much groveled on my hands and knees, she forgave me and allowed me to run her a bath; something I was too dumb to do earlier. I couldn't believe it when she asked me to wash her back.

I think what really let her forgive me was our bathtub escapades. But I didn't think it was enough, I mean, fingering the woman that I love in a bathtub while she's all naked and wet isn't exactly a chore.

I literally fucking pouted when she said I couldn't do it for a third time.

I'd have to be sure to make it up to her properly tonight when Alice wasn't threatening to drag her away from me.

I decided to go hang out with Emmett and Jasper while I waited for the girls to get back. I know if I didn't do something to take my mind off of it, I'd go crazy. I changed into more comfortable clothes; jeans and a loose white t-shirt before making the short walk over there.

I was too busy trying not to think of the worst possible scenarios, to realize that I'd gotten here and Emmett was flinging the front door open and bounding toward me.

Emmett grabbed me, fisting the front of my shirt in his hands and pulling me roughly into the house.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't knock you out right now." Emmett said, deadly serious.

"I know I fucked up man, but Bella and I worked it out. Everything's fine now." I tried explain to him.

"_Oh, everything's fine._ You wouldn't be saying that if you saw little Bella running into my house with tears in her eyes, begging to talk to Alice and Rosie. Then when she saw the girls, she burst into tears. I told you if you ever make her cry, I'd knock your ass out. Now the only question is; you gonna stand there and take it like a man or am I gonna have Jazz help me hold you down?" Emmett snarled at me, shaking me.

"Hit me, I deserve it." I said, staring straight into his eyes so he could see how serious I am.

I deserved whatever beating Emmett would give me for upsetting Bella like I did.

He nodded and let go of my shirt, allowing me to take a step back, and drew his fist back. I took a deep breath and braced myself, I'd been on the receiving end of Emmett's punches before; it never turned out good. The last time he punched me, he broke my nose and I was knocked out cold for hours.

"Ready man?" He asked, at least giving me a curtsy warning .

I nodded and it wasn't a second later when Emmett's fist connected to my face, effectively knocking me backwards onto the hard floor and everything blurred for a moment before I succumbed to the darkness I had known would come.

**BPOV**

Shopping with Alice and Rose was… a life altering experience.

Every store we went to, they left with multiple bags, me included since they forced me to buy numerous things. Shirts, shorts, jeans, sweat pants, pajamas, underwear, shoes, and all sorts of toiletries. People that worked in the stores seemed to know who they are, considering they dropped whatever they were doing and addressed Rose and Alice by 'Mrs. Cullen and Mrs. Hale' the second we walked through the door and helped us with everything.

I finally had to draw the line when we stopped in what I was guessing the Brazilian version of Zales and tried to get me a diamond bracelet.

Wasn't going to happen.

Everything they'd already bought me was more than enough, I didn't dare look at the price tags and made Alice promise to cut them off before I'd wear any of it.

We were currently have a very uncomfortable discussion about my newly discovered sex life.

"So… was it good? What as it like? Was Edward nice to you? Did it hurt a lot?" Alice bombarded me with questions.

"It was really, really good. Edward was… nice to me… a couple times." I blushed and paused for a second as both Alice and Roses' eyes widened. "And yeah it hurt a lot, it's suppose to isn't it?"

Alice gave me a reassuring nod and continued with her interrogation.

"Was Edward's… um… appendage satisfactory?" She giggled. I heard Rose snort and she rolled her eyes.

"Alice, he's your brother!" I exclaimed. She shrugged her shoulders and gave me an innocent expression, telling me to answer her question anyway.

"Yes… it was quite satisfactory." I muttered. They laughed for a minute and then Rose started her line of questioning. I don't know who I prefer.

"Did you give him a BJ?" Rose asked.

"That's a blow job, right? No I didn't, I don't even know where to start with something like that. I barely even touched it for a minute." I admitted.

"What do you mean 'I don't even know where to start'? I know you were a virgin, but haven't you ever had a friend that had more experience that told you about stuff like that? Or watched a porno?" Rose asked disbelievingly.

"Ummm… no. I only had a couple friends and they never talked in that much detail. I know the mechanics of it and all, but I'm pretty sure it's different when you actually do it." I said.

"Oh god, we're going to have to tell you. We can't let you go in unprepared, that would just be mean on our part." Alice mumbled. "Come on, lets go sit down." She guided me over to the benches next to the fountain.

Ten minutes later, I was as red as a tomato and possibly scarred for life. Alice and Rose had snickered through their explanations of how to give men, or more specifically; Edward, a blow job. I was petrified.

I seen and felt Edward's cock… It barely fit down there, how was I going to get my mouth around it and do all those things they were explaining?

"Are we done now?" I mumbled through my fingers that were covering my face.

"It's not that bad." Rose said.

"Yes it is. You obviously haven't seen Edward's happy place." I retorted.

"Just work with it and go slow, Edward will be patient and understanding, don't worry." Rose reassured me.

After that, we resumed our shopping, this time going into a store that sold swim suit and other beach items.

Alice went to call Jasper for the fourth time today to tell them we were still alive as Rose and I perused the bathing suits; the only thing we had left to get before we could go back to the island.

"This is cute." I held up a two piece swimsuit for Rose to see. It was simple, but cute; a dark green color, the bottom tied together at the hips and the top held a small bow-tie in the middle, between the cups. I noticed that it also came with the optional wrap skirt which I would be sure to get.

"Hmmm… It is cute. You like that color or want it in something else?"

"I like the green. It…" I stopped and blushed, unable to finish.

"What?" Rose asked.

"The color reminds me of Edward's eyes." I muttered.

"Awww…" She smiled and teased.

"Shut up." I retorted.

"Are you sure you don't want something more… flashy?" Alice asked from behind me, making me jump.

"No, I like this. You know I don't like anything over the top." I said once I'd recovered from the mini heart attack she'd just given me.

"Alright then. Oooohhh… I like this." Alice got sidetracked and pounced on a swimsuit.

"So, you and Edward worked everything out?" Rose asked as we walked back to the dressing rooms.

"Yeah, he apologized profusely and explained why he did it and after a while, I forgave him. It was a shitty thing to do, but I understand why he did it, underneath it all, he was just trying to do something he thought I needed. I can't fault him too much for it I guess. I'm over it now." I told her through the dressing room door, trying to tie this top together.

"As long as you're alright with it and can let it go, I guess I can to." She said and then mumbled something under her breath I couldn't hear.

"I wish you wouldn't be so hard on him. He didn't mean it." I said.

I heard her sigh and there was silence for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Bella, I've known Edward for a while and I've seen many girls come and go without him giving any of them a second glance." She started.

Ouch… _many girls_… that stings.

She continued, "I guess that I see something in you that is different, something that will be good for him, and I don't want him to mess it up. Under all the threats and the bitchiness and snide comments, I love the bastard like a brother and I just want him to be happy. And you're too good of a girl to be treated like all of those other girls. You love him, you see past everything to the good man that's in there deep down and you bring it out. And he loves you, like he should. I don't want him to be a dumbass and mess it all up over the ridiculous way his mind works."

The entire time she's telling me this, I'm leaning up against the stall door, taking it all in.

First of all; I'm pretty sure that's the most I've ever heard Rose say at once. Second; I was about to cry.

"I…I don't know what to say to that." I sniffle through the door.

"You don't have to say anything Bella, just love him, asshole moments and all." She laughed a little at the end.

"I've got no problem with that." I said softly.

"Okay, now get out here and let's see that swimsuit." She demands.

_Gone was the touching moment… Back to regular pushy Rose. God I love her. _

I stepped out and paraded the suit for her, spinning around when she twirled her hand, she nodded her approval and let me go change into my clothes.

Alice came up and said that we needed to get home, the boys were starting to get worried and I could understand, seeing as we'd been shopping for nearly five hours. Although, in Alice's defense, one of those hours went to lunch.

Rose and Alice went up to the register to pay for the our suits while I stayed back, looking through the other things they had.

Suddenly I felt something or someone bump into me from behind and I began to stumble forward into the rack. Hands grabbed my upper arms and pulled me back; hands that didn't belong to Rose or Alice.

I pulled out of the man's grasp and turned around.

A blond man was smiling down at me. He was fairly tall, though shorter than Edward, decently built, with blue eyes and medium length blond hair. He wore a simple pair of dark jeans and black t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, you alright miss?" He asked in English, though it was slightly accented.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for catching me before I tumbled into the rack, that would have been embarrassing." I said and tried to smile, but something about this man was giving me the creeps. Maybe it was the way his eyes slowly raked over my body before coming back up to my face. It reminded me of the way all those other men were leering at me when I was being sold.

It made me want to run to find Edward and hide in his arms.

"Well, as long as you're alright…" He trailed off.

"Thanks, but I have to get back to my friends now." I said, turning away from him and hurrying off as fast as I could without it being obvious to him that I was trying to run away.

They were just finishing paying for everything when I walked up to them.

"Can we go?" I asked softly.

Rose snapped her head toward me and eyed me up and down.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, there was just this blond guy… He bumped into me and I almost stumbled into one of the clothing racks and he caught me. But there was something about him that creeped me out." I admitted, wrapping my arms around my middle.

Her eyes immediately scanned the entire store and so did mine, but I didn't see him anywhere.

"He's not here anymore." I whispered to her.

"Come on, let's go back to the docks, we need to go home anyway." She said and quickly ushered me and Alice out of the store.

We took a taxi, stuffing our bags into the trunk and whatever else we couldn't fit we squeezed in with us in the backseat. All these bags were ridiculous, I never knew one could buy this much stuff, but Alice had insisted that I get everything I needed now because we probably wouldn't be coming back to the mainland for another month at least.

Thankfully it was a quick drive and when we finally arrived, the driver helped us unload everything onto the boat. Alice handed him a fistful of cash and waved goodbye cheerfully.

Climbing on the boat carefully, I situated myself next to Alice with all the bags as Rose to the drivers seat. The ride back did nothing for my nerves. I couldn't get away from that feeling that guy gave me, it made my skin crawl and I just wanted to hide.

Who was he anyway? I didn't think to ask for his name, I was too busy trying to get away from him.

Then a thought occurred to me; was there a chance that that man could have been James?

I think Edward said he was blond, but there are so many blond guys around, could that one have been James? Maybe he wasn't James. If he was, wouldn't he have done something to me instead of saving me from falling?

Unfortunately, I couldn't think about it anymore because Rose was cutting the engine. I didn't realize that I'd been zoned out for that long.

I looked over and saw that Alice was looking at me with a concerned expression, but I smiled at her to try to ease her worries. She frowned at me but didn't say anything, instead grabbing all the bags she could and jumping off the boat.

"Come on! You can model all the lingerie you got for Edward!" She giggled.

I blushed. "Alice! I'm not going to do that!" I whisper yelled at her. I didn't want anyone other than Alice and Rose hearing me, just in case one of the boys was close by.

"Oh come on, I bet Eddie would enjoy you parading around the house in nothing but that little red bra and thong." Rose cackled.

"Shhh!" I tried to get her to be quite considering we were almost to her house.

They both just laughed harder. Bitches…

I couldn't help but start giggling along with them, but when Rose opened the door and we walked into the house, I froze and the smile on my face dropped as I saw Edward; laying on a couch, his face dripping in blood that was flowing from his nose. He looked like he was asleep, but more than likely he'd been knocked out.

I dropped all my bags and ran to him, dropping to my knees next to him and fluttering my hands over his bloody face.

"Oh god! What did you do to him?" I yelled.

"I punched him." I heard Emmett say nonchalantly from somewhere behind me.

"Em! You promised I'd be here when you did that! Damnit…" Rose grumbled.

"You punched him? Why?" I demanded to know.

"He deserved it for what he did to you, he even admitted it himself and stood there and let me punch him." He tried to defend himself.

I gave him a death glare and Emmett - big, muscled, scary looking Emmett - took a step back and looked scared.

"Rose, will you please get me some ice?" I asked, all the while glaring at Emmett.

"Sure." She said and walked off into the kitchen like nothing was happening.

"Belly B, I'm sorry I was just trying t-"

"Don't even try right now Emmett. He apologized and we made up, he doesn't deserve you clobbering him and leaving him on the couch to bleed all over the place." I growled and turned back to Edward.

He looked so pale… blood was all over his face…

_Breathe Bella, breathe… don't faint, you need to take care of Edward right now_.

Rose came back and handed me a plastic zip-lock bag full of ice and wet dish cloth.

"Thank you." I mumbled as I took both from her.

I gently dabbed at his face with the wet rag, trying to clean off the blood, then pressed it lightly against his nose, stopping the flow of blood that was steadily streaming out.

Once I got the bleeding to stop and cleaned it all up, I lightly pressed the ice against his nose, trying to find the best place to set it. I finally just set it so the his nose was at the center of the bag, completely covered.

"I called dad, he'll be over in a few minutes. He'll probably need to reset Edwards' nose, it looks broken." Alice said, stuffing her phone back in her pocket.

_Broke Edward's nose? _

My hands clenched into fists and I stood up, facing Emmett, and marched up to him until I was only a couple inches away from his chest and had t tilt my neck back to look into his face.

"How could you break your own brothers' nose? How dare you do this at all? I'm a big girl Emmett, I don't need you going around punching people that upset me! I had it taken care of, Edward apologized and explained things and I forgave him!" I was yelling at him, poking my finger in his very hard chest at every word, probably hurting my poor little finger more than him.

The entire time, Emmett was just staring down at me in disbelief, his eyes wide and his mouth gapping like a fish.

"I-I just w-wanted to-" He stumbled out.

"You wanted to what?" I yelled, my hands on my hips.

"B-Bella…"

I turned around quickly to see Edwards' eyes open and staring at me, his hand hold the ice to his nose.

"Edward!" I exclaimed and ran over to him. "Do you feel okay?" I asked gently.

"Well, my face and head hurts like hell, but other than that I guess I'm okay." He said, his voice muffled because of his nose and the ice.

He struggled to sit up and blinked a few times, scrunching his face up.

"I think this one beats the one you gave me a few years ago, Em." He said, humor in his voice.

"You think, man? I did pack a lot of power into this one." He laughed to Edward.

Edward shook his head and winced. "You definitely broke my nose. I really didn't want to repeat my bandage face days." He laughed. Emmett chuckled along with him.

During their little exchange, I just sat there, my mouth hanging open in disbelief that Edward was _joking _about this.

"You're not mad at Emmett?" I ask Edward.

"No, not really. I did tell him he could punch me, though he didn't have to it so hard." He leveled a look at Emmett on the last part.

I huffed and crossed my arms. I try to defend Edward about getting hit and then he says he doesn't mind and laughs about it. My face turned red in embarrassment and I bit my lip.

"Alright, if you're fine here, I'm going to go home and put my things away." I said, standing up and gathering my bags.

"Bella, what…" Edward looked confused.

"It's fine, just stay here and laugh it up and wait for your father to come fix your _broken nose_." I said and walked out without another word.

_God I'm being such a bitch. _

I couldn't help it though, I've always had this habit of being defensive and sometimes mean when I was embarrassed, it was like protection. I couldn't stop the words that came out of my mouth, no matter how mean or bitchy I knew they would sound.

I fumed the entire way back to the house, thankfully it was still unlocked, I would have hated to go back and ask for a key. I would rather sit in the sand until Edward showed up.

When I started to head to Edwards' bedroom, I froze, remembering that I was supposed to be staying in the second room. That's probably where I should put my clothes. Even if I was going to share Edwards' room, there was no place in his closet for everything I got.

So I slowly headed up the staircase to the second room, dragging all the bags with me. When I opened the door and flipped the lights on, I realized that it's a very pretty room and rather large, just as big as Edwards' room, but it seemed cold…empty. Even though there was a queen size bed, a beautiful carved wooden dresser and a small loveseat sitting beside the window overlooking the beach; there wasn't anything here to make me feel like it was _mine_.

I dumped the bags on the bed, grabbed one of the Victoria's Secret bag and started going through what was inside, pulling out various bras and panties. Carefully putting them away in the top dresser drawer. I kept this up, moving onto my shirts, hanging them up in the walk-in closet. It wasn't until I was digging through my pants and folding them up when I heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Here you are, what are you doing up here?" Edward asked as he walked in. I looked over at him and winced. His nose had a strip of white tape across it and there was a good sized bruise forming on his nose and a little under his right eye. But somehow, I don't know how the man did it, he still looked sexy. If anything, it might make him hotter.

"I'm putting all my clothes away. This is going to be my room, this is where I need to put my things." I told him, not pausing in folding my jeans.

I heard him sigh and his footsteps echo through the room.

"Come here angel." Edward mumbled, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back into his chest.

"What?" I asked, trying not to melt into him.

He snuggled his face into my neck, trying to work around his nose and I fought to not laugh. "I didn't mean to make you upset or embarrass you, I love you even more for standing up for me like that, but it wasn't really necessary. Emmett and I are brothers and sometimes brothers fight and punch each other if the other one is being stupid. Although, I'm never going to forget the look on Ems' face when you were yelling at him and smacking him on the chest. He didn't know whether to laugh or piss himself."

I giggled and finally relaxed into his arms.

"I get it Edward, I really do. It's just, when you started laughing about it, it embarrassed me and made me feel stupid, I'd been going on and on trying to defend you, then you go laugh and joke about it." I explained to him, leaning back into his chest.

"I'm sorry baby." He mumbled against my neck, placing an opened mouth kiss on my pulse, his stubble rubbing against my neck, making me moan.

"I'm sorry for acting like a moody bitch." I apologized softly, my breathing shallow.

"Stop, you weren't acting like a bitch, you were just upset." He said, kissing down my neck, over my shoulder and back up again.

I melted back into his chest, his arms holding me up, and tilted my head to the side so he could have better access.

"I love you." He whispered into my ear.

I grinned widely at that.

"I love you too, Edward." I whispered back.

He made a satisfied sound in his chest and resumed kissing my neck and shoulder. His hands slid from around my waist to rest on my hips and his fingers kneed against my flesh before slipping lower, his fingertips sliding under the band of my shorts.

"Edward…" I warned, but there was no meaning behind it.

"Bella…" He mimicked me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, smiling.

"Well, it looks like I'm paying much needed attention to this lovely neck of yours." He teased.

"Edward, we can't do this right now, I'm still unpacking some of my things." I protested, but not really. I would be more than happy to stay like this for the rest of the day and night.

"You can unpack later, it'll still be here in a hour or two." He reasoned.

"An hour _or two_? My, my, aren't we sure of ourselves." I teased.

"Oh, I intend to keep you very busy and… tired." He mumbled against my hair. I could feel him grinning.

"Hmmm… I don't know. Are you sure you'd be up to that? You nose must hurt." I said, half teasingly, half serious.

"I don't give a shit about my nose. I'll put a bunch of Tylenol in a Pez dispenser and eat them like candy if I have to." He said, nipping at my ear.

I let out a little moan and reached up behind me to grip his hair.

"Let me make you feel good, angel." Edward crooned in my ear, his warm, sweet breath washing over me.

I wanted so desperately to say yes to him… God did I want to. But I knew I needed to tell him about that man I encountered at the shop.

"Edward stop… I have to tell you something." I say, but it comes out more breathy and weak than I wanted it to, since Edwards' lips were caressing my neck and his fingers were floating over the skin just under the band of my shorts.

"Is it you saying yes to letting me take these damn shorts off?" He smiled into neck.

"No." I whispered.

"Hmm… Then I don't know how interested I am…" He murmured playfully and continued his kisses and his hand dipped lower, brushing into my underwear.

I took a deep breath and told my body to pull itself together. I realized I'll have to get serious here.

"Edward, please stop." I said as firmly as possible. Apparently it worked. Every part of Edward froze at my words and a second later, all traces of him left me as he took a step back.

"Fuck." I heard him gasp painfully behind me.

I spun around quickly to see what was wrong, only to see Edward staring at me with sad eyes, his face pale and a look of worry covered his face.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean it like that! Jesus… I-I didn't mean to push. I'd never do _that_." He apologized and ran his fingers through his hair violently.

_Oh!_ He misunderstood me asking him to stop as me being uncomfortable with him.

"Oh no, Edward! That wasn't what I meant!" I rushed to assure him. "I just wanted you to stop because there's something I need to tell you."

I walked up to him and reached up, grabbing the hand that was still firmly imbedded in his poor hair and pulled it down, holding his one hand between both of mine against my chest.

"I know you would never do anything to hurt me Edward. Especially something like _that_." I said to him.

"You sounded upset, I was afraid I did something to scare you or make you angry." He mumbled.

"You didn't do anything to scare me, in fact, I was having trouble controlling myself." I smirked at the end, attempting to lighten things up.

Edward didn't say anything, just brushed his thumb over one of my hands that was holding his and gingerly leaned forward until his forehead was resting against mine.

"What did you want to tell me angel?" He asked after a minute.

"While I was out with Rose and Alice, there was this man." I began and I instantly felt Edward tense up. "He bumped into me and I was about to fall into one of the clothing racks, but he caught me. There was something about him… It made me feel very uncomfortable. I felt like… I felt like I was back _there_, on that stage in front of all those disgusting men. He was looking me up and down like I was a piece of meat or something, but the whole time he was smiling and apologizing for bumping into me."

Edward picked me up in his arms and carried me over to the bed, sitting me down so that I was sideways on his lap, my face pressed into his neck. His hands were running up and down my back and arm in a soothing motion.

"What did he look like?" Edward asked immediately, suddenly turning very serious.

"He was a little shorter than you, medium length blond hair, blue eyes, he was slightly tanned. He was just wearing jeans and a black t-shirt; nothing out of the ordinary." I told him everything I could remember.

I felt Edward take in a shuddering breath and his grip on me tightened protectively. I knew then and there that I was right in my assumption; this man had been James.

"It was him wasn't it? It was James." I asked, only wanting Edward to confirm it. When he answered, he sounded so angry, but I knew not a single drop of it was directed at me.

"Yes."


	18. Chapter 18

**EPOV**

Words could not describe how furious I am right now.

That bastard had touched my Bella… my angel. He was so close to her that he just went up to her and touched and talked to her, making her feel uncomfortable and frightened. He could have done anything to her. He could have hurt her or god forbid… taken her.

I was trying hard not to either have a coronary where I sat or start screaming and throwing things. But I didn't want to do anything to scare Bella anymore than she already is, I could feel her trembling in my arms even now.

"Edward?" Bella whispered into my chest.

"Did he hurt you? In any way at all?" I asked almost reluctantly.

"No, he didn't hurt me." She said.

I breathed a sigh of relief that at least he didn't hurt her, but that brought up so many new questions.

Did he even know who she was? He must have known, he was there when she was being sold. If he did recognize her, why didn't he do anything? Was he trying to prove a point? Was there a chance that he just isn't interested in her? I hope to God that that was the case.

"I need to talk to Carlisle." I told her and made to get up, but she stopped me.

"Please don't go." She whimpered.

I glanced down at her and saw that she was looking up at me with wide eyes, clutching at my shirt tightly and biting into her lip like she was about to chew right through it. She was scared.

"Of course angel, I won't go… I won't go." I repeated to her softly, continuing to run my hands along her back.

Bella relaxed in my arms instantly and nuzzled her face into my neck, still holding onto my tightly.

We stayed like this for what felt like minutes, even hours. Bella curled up in my lap, resting against my chest as I rocked her gently, kissing her head and murmuring soothing words to her. Telling her that there was nothing to be afraid of, that I wouldn't let him hurt her and that I love her.

Eventually, she began to doze off and I carried her back down to _our _room and placed her carefully in _my _bed, covering her up with the comforter. I thought it was ridiculous when she said she was going to be sleeping in the second bedroom. Though I guess I should tell her that I want her to move in my bedroom with me. I just can't stand the idea of not having her sleeping against me in my bed.

I laid next to her in the bed for another twenty minutes, watching her sleep. A little too creepy? Eh, I don't give a shit. Her face would scrunch up and she'd mumbled something I couldn't make out, but she didn't seem like she was in too much distress.

I was reluctant to leave her, even if she was sleeping. She could easily wake up and I didn't want her to be upset that I wasn't here like I promised. But I had to talk to Carlisle about this, I needed to plan how I was going to take care of James and I'd need to finish my conversation with Carlisle about Uncle Aro.

Fuck… How was I going to do this?

"Edward?" Jasper's voice called from the living room.

What's he doing here?

I backed out of the bedroom quietly, not wishing to disturb Bella, and shut the door carefully behind me.

Jasper was standing my living room, his arms crossed over his chest waiting for me.

"Alice told me to come over here." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

I chuckled. _Alice…_

"Can you stay here with Bella? She's asleep in my room right now, but she's a little on edge about something. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Of course. Alice and Rose told me about Bella running into some guy while they were out. It's James isn't it." He didn't even really ask. He didn't need to, he already knew. We all knew, even Bella figured it out right away, without having ever seen him before.

It was obvious; and that was the problem. Not even James was that stupid, he had to have known she'd tell me about bumping into a strange man. Which means that he wanted me to know how close he'd gotten to her. He was trying to taunt me, goad me into making a move.

"Yeah, it was him. That bastard…" I seethed.

"Go do what you need to do, I'll watch little Bella." He said, planting his ass on my couch and flipping the TV on. _At least he's keeping the volume down_.

I walked as fast as I could to my parents house, eager to tell Carlisle about this new development. I stopped myself from just walking in like I did with Em and Alice. Our parents had a different set of rules for that, but more for our benefit and we all whole heartily agreed. None of use wanted to be scarred for life because we walked in on our parents going at it.

I shuddered, forcing away the unwanted image and rang the door bell.

About ten seconds later, Esme was opening the door with a bright smile.

"Edward! Nice of one of my children to come see us today. I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about us." She smiled and winked at me, letting know she was just teasing.

"I'm sorry mom. The past few days have been busy." I offered as an excuse.

"Oh hush, I know. By the way, how's Bella?" She smiled knowingly at me.

"Bella is good, she's a little stressed right now, though." I told her truthfully.

She frowned and I could tell she was genuinely concerned about Bella. I stuffed down the warm feelings that rose up in my of my mother caring about the woman I love like Bella was one of her own.

"Why? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing too bad, I just need to talk to dad." I said.

"Talk to me about what, Edward?" Carlisle asked as he came around the corner.

"Oh you two have your little talk, I'll go ahead and take these cookies I made over to Bella." Esme said, picking up a large plate and efficiently letting us have our talk in private.

"She's asleep, but Jasper's over there with her." I warned her.

She nodded, letting me know she heard me and walked out the front door, a plate full of chocolate chip cookies in hand.

"What is it, Edward? It must be something important for you to come straight over." Carlisle asked again.

"It's about James. The girls ran into him while they were shopping. He bumped into Bella, but she says he didn't do anything to hurt her, just gave her the creeps." I said through clenched teeth.

Carlisle looked angry and his hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose like I do and sighed.

"Damnit!" He cursed. Carlisle never curses…

"Can't I just kill him?" I mumbled childishly, knowing that the answer would be a no.

"Edward… You're not killing him." He warned.

I huffed, but knew he was right. I couldn't kill him…at least not yet. James had to be working with someone higher up on the food chain and if we killed him, we'd probably never figure out who was pulling his strings.

"Did Aro call you back with anything?" I asked.

"He wasn't very useful. Just said he didn't want anything to do with and hung up. I swear, that man get's grumpier and grumpier every year. Although, he is busy trying to deal with Ann, she's little upset that her brother is dead." Carlisle leveled a look at me at the last part and I just looked at him with a 'duh' look on my face.

"I couldn't help killing Marcus! Technically, it was self defense! He was threatening to kill me and Em, and do god only knows what with Bella! He wanted her for a fucking sex slave! Like hell I was going to let that bastard lay one greasy fucking hand on her." I seethed, defending myself for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I know, son. I know. It's not your fault, I just wish Marcus hadn't chosen to do something that. Just tell the girls they're not to leave the island for anything. If they really need something important, you, Emmett or Jasper go out. We're stocked up on enough food to last us at least another two weeks and Bella's got everything she'll need while she stays here, correct?" I nodded at him and he went on. "Good. No one leaves this island except for emergencies, until we find out more about this and it gets taken care of."

"I completely agree, I'll make sure to let everyone know. In the meantime though, please call Aro and see if you can get anymore information out of him. Did James know Marcus? Was that was he was still there? Has James had anymore contact with him, called him again? Something, anything to go on." I said, needing something to go on.

I had another idea, but wondered if I should bring it up to him; just leave the island and go someplace no one would be able to find us.

Is there a place like that? There must be… maybe go to some little town in Greece or Spain, someplace we can hide until we get rid of James. It would keep Bella's mind off of everything, I didn't want her to stress over this.

Before either of us could say anything else, Esme came walking back into the house, minus cookies. She stopped short when she saw the serious expressions on ours faces and the tense atmosphere.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked.

"No, we're finished. Thanks for taking those cookies over, mom. Bella and I will enjoy them." I smirked. I did love Esme's cookies, I hope I'll be able to leave a couple for Bella. I tended to scarf them down without a second thought.

"Oh she said that she liked them a lot." She smiled and walked back into the kitchen, beginning to clean up the mess from making the cookies.

"What?" I was confused. Had she woken up while I was gone?

"Jasper said that she'd just woken up when I got there, said she wasn't feeling too good, but she came out just before I was about to leave and thanked me for the cookies. She didn't look too good though. Poor girl, she's been through so much that she just didn't deserve." Esme shook her head sadly and my chest clenched.

"I have to go." I said to Carlisle.

"Go, I'll make some calls." He said and nodded me off. I went over and hugged Esme before leaving quickly, wanting to get to Bella as soon as possible.

When I walked in the living room, I stopped short, surprised to see Bella cuddled up next to Jasper on the couch, his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. A movie was playing on the TV that they were watching and I noticed they were eating the cookies that Esme had taken to them.

I had to fight down the jealous urge to rip Jasper's arm out of it's socket and away from Bella.

I cleared my throat and they both whipped their head around to me.

"You're back!" Bella exclaimed happily, jumping off the couch and away from Jasper. She flung her arms around my waist and kissed my jaw, the closest thing she could reach without me bending over.

"You and Jasper looked cozy." I grumbled.

Bella rolled her eyes at me and tightened her arms around my torso. "Seriously Edward? It's just Jasper, not a hot Italian cabaña boy in a speedo."

I blanched at her words at first, then grinned. Bella could always make me laugh.

"Hey now! I could be a cabaña boy! I'd rock the hell out of a speedo." Jasper called playfully from the couch, swiveling his hips for emphasis.

Bella giggled and I just shook my head at the image of Jasper in a speedo, fanning one of those oversized feather fan things over Alice, Bella and Rose while feeding them fruit.

_I didn't need to see that. _

"You can go now, wannabe cabaña boy." I said, trying to get him to leave so I could spend some time with Bella.

"Sugar, do you want me to go? Or do you want me to hang around a bit so you won't get bored with this nub?" Jasper snickered.

"Out!" I ordered.

"Edward… be nice." Bella admonished. "Jasper, if you want to stay and finish the movie you can."

Jasper tapped his chin with his finger and smirked at me while I stood there tapping my foot.

"I'd love to stay sugar, but I think Eddie here wants you all to himself." He said eventually. Getting up off the couch, he meandered over to Bella and gave her a hug, whispering something I couldn't hear in her ear.

What was with all this _sugar _stuff?

"Thank you Jasper." She whispered back at him.

As soon as he walked out the door, Bella started laughing.

"What?" I asked. From what Esme had said, I thought she'd be upset, not laughing and smiling.

"I think it's cute how you're jealous of Jasper." Bella laughed.

"I'm not jealous, I'm just annoyed that he was getting in-between us and our private time." I grumbled.

"Our private time? Just what would this private time involve?" She asked seductively.

"I was thinking something along the lines of spending the rest of the night on the couch, watching some movies, have some dinner, go to bed… and anything else _you _might want to do." I told her, emphasizing that she had to decide if we did anything that involves sex.

Her little voice begging me to _please stop_… It killed me a little each time I remembered it. I had been so absorbed in her and what I was doing that I didn't even pay attention to what she was saying.

"Edward, I told you that I wasn't scared, I just thought it was important that I tell you about James." Bella said, burying her face in my chest.

"That may be, but what if you really were afraid and I wasn't listening to you? I don't ever want you to be scared of me, it kills me when you flinch from me and beg me to stop doing something." I winced painfully at the memories.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be sorry Bella, you've got nothing to be sorry for." I said, frustrated.

"Edward, I know you would never, ever hurt me. In any way what-so-ever. So will you please stop beating yourself up? It hurts me when I see you upset about something that you'd never do." Bella murmured to me, looking up at me with her wide dark brown eyes, pleading.

I cupped her face in my hands and leaned down to kiss her softly.

"I love you." I whispered as I pulled away from her.

"I love you, too. But you still didn't answer my question."

I sighed, knowing I'd been caught. "Alright, I'll stop beating myself about." I promised her.

"That's all I ask." She said before grasping my shoulders and lowering me back down toward her so she could kiss me again.

**~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~**

We had settled on the couch comfortably, eating a dinner of pasta with alfredo sauce, that tasted fucking amazing, while watching a Harry Potter movie. The fifth one; Bella had insisted on _The Order of the Phoenix_, saying it was her favorite one yet.

Anything to make my angel happy.

I took the dishes in the kitchen after a few protests from Bella, eventually telling her that since she had cooked, I could at least clean the dishes.

Halfway through the movie, I was laying down on my back across the couch, Bella leisurely sprawled out on my chest, tracing her fingertips along the collar of my shirt. I'd run my fingers through her hair and had to try to position myself so that my dick wasn't digging into her.

It wasn't working too well.

Occasionally she would 'innocently' shift against me, grinding her thigh into my dick. I'd feel her smile into my chest and her body tremble slightly with laughter.

_Bella wants to play tonight…._

In retaliation, I'd stroke down her back and let my fingers brush over her ass, quickly stroking back up. Every time I did, her breath would catch in a way that made me smile.

After about a half hour of playing this little game, I felt like I was about to burst out of my jeans and it was starting to get painful. Bella was beginning to whimper every time my fingers slid over her ass, pushing her hips up into my hand.

"Edward?" Bella whispered into my neck.

"Yeah Bella?" I choked out.

"Will you take me to our bedroom?" She asked.

"Are you tired?" I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.

There was a short pause before she answered me. "No."

She's not tired… then… _Oh_. Hell yes.

In a second, I sat up, stood from the couch with Bella, griping her by her hips and lifting her to me, making her wrap her legs around my waist, my cock pressing into her pussy, taunting me. Carrying her through the house, down hallways until I finally reached my…our…room until we reached the bed, I released her onto the soft bed, following her down and kissing her.

"You sure baby?" I asked against her lips, making sure that she really did want this, not just saying it to make me feel better about things.

"Yes Edward, please make love to me." She whispered back at me, staring into my eyes.

Not having to be told twice, I lowered my mouth to her neck, nipping gently, then soothing over the little bites with my tongue. Bella was panting in my ear, making my already painful erection nearly fucking unbearable. I was trying so hard to take this slow, to make Bella feel good before I basically plunged into her.

But it wasn't working too well. Every cell in my body was telling me to rip her clothes off and thrust into her. The sounds she was making in my ear wasn't helping anything.

"Fuck Bella… I-I don't know if I can wait." I groaned out apologetically.

Suddenly, I felt pressure on my shoulder and I rolled off her onto my back. To my surprise, Bella followed me, straddling my waist and planting her hands on my pecs, her long brown hair brushing against my skin.

"I want to do something for you." She whispered down to me shyly.

"What do you want to do?" I asked curiously, momentarily forgetting about the ache below my waist. I would do anything she wanted. She paused for a second, and I took the opportunity to running to run my hands up and down her bare thighs.

"Me, Alice and Rose had a talk earlier about something that I wanted to try. It's um… a blowjob." She rushed out the last part.

I had to think for a second. _Where the hell did that come from? She wants to give me a blowjob? Holy shit. _

"Bella, you don't have to do _that_. I can tell you're not comfortable even saying it, let alone doing it. It's not like I'm expecting it from you, we can do that later when you're more comfortable." He told her truthfully. No matter how appealing the image of Bella sucking my cock was, I'd never ask her to do it; that was something she had to decide she wants to do for me.

"I know you don't expect it, but I just want to try." She was adamant it.

I sighed and ran my hand over her cheek, looking into her eyes. She was determined to try this.

"Okay, you can try it." I relented, but not really. I mean come on, I wouldn't be a man if I straight up refused a blowjob from a very beautiful and very willing girl.

"Will you help me?" She whispered nervously, glancing down at my lap.

"Of course I'll help you, angel. And if you want to stop at anytime, just tell me, no pressure." I assured her.

She nodded at me before starting to shimmy down my body in away that was killing me. _She really has no fucking idea that's she's doing something sexy._

I gripped my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it away from us as her fingers began unbuttoning my jeans and she struggled to pull them off, but I pushed her hands away gently and removed them for her, tossing them off to the side.

Bella settled back between my legs and looked down at my boxer covered lap. She looked nervous and it worried me that she wasn't ready to do this.

"Bella…?" I trailed off.

Without saying a word, her fingers went to my boxers and dipped under the band, slowly sliding them down. I lifted off the bed so it would be easier for her to get them off and she threw them across the room with the rest of my clothes.

Sitting completely naked on the bed, I remained still as Bella's eyes wandered over me, taking everything in. Her eyes stopped at my dick and I saw them widen a bit.

"It's really big." She stated. I tried not to smirk and keep my face neutral.

Bella scooted closer to me, still between my legs and slowly reached her hand out, brushing her fingertips against my dick. I tried to suppress my moan, instead, focusing on her face and reactions.

She became more confident and comfortable, fully wrapping her fingers around me, engulfing me in her warm hand.

I couldn't help the moan that came out this time.

Her innocent little touches exciting me to no end. Bella's warm fingers wrapped around my cock was one of the best things in the world…probably in the top three.

"What should I do?" She asked me, her big eyes staring up at me wonderingly.

"Just move your hand up and down, tighten your fingers a little… oh fuck." I could only moan as she did as I asked, following my directions perfectly, moving her hand up and down my cock, tightening along the way.

"Shit!" I nearly shouted as her thumb brushed over the tip, but Bella jumped back and snapped her hand back.

"I'm sorry!" She cringed and looked like she was about to cry.

"Angel, it's okay, you didn't hurt me, it just felt _really _good. I'm sorry I startled you." I tried to assure her, leaning forward to cup her face in my hands.

"You sure?" She mumbled.

"I'm sure. It felt so fucking good baby… Do you want to try it again?" I asked her, a part of me desperately wanting her hand back on me.

She nodded and placed her hand back on me, continuing to pump me up and down. This time, instead of laying back in the pillows, I leaned forward, resting my head against Bella's shoulder and wrapped my hands around her hips. As she worked her hand up and down, I turned my head slightly and started placing kisses on her neck and jaw, panting in-between kisses.

"Fuck… Rub your thumb over the head… when you bring your hand up." I panted out.

After about a minute of this, she started to slow down.

"Should I…." She trailed off, looking pointedly at my dick and biting her lip.

"No. Keep doing what you're doing, angel." I groaned.

She made a noise in her throat that told me she understood and fell back into the rhythm she's been going at. My fingers developed a mind of their own, kneading the flesh at her hips. I was panting and moaning into her neck, placing open mouth kisses everywhere I could reach.

"Oh fuck…I-I'm gonna cum…" I warned. She surprised me turning her head a little and _biting _into my neck. She didn't put too much pressure into it, but I was sure there'd be marks. It also brought me over the edge, a rush going through me that my little innocent Bella was biting my neck like a damn thirsty vampire.

"Bella… Fuck!" I growled into her skin and exploding into her hand.

I couldn't help flopping back into the pillows, almost completely spent. Fuck, that was the best hand job I've had. And she didn't even give me a blowjob. I felt kind of bad that she didn't get to do what she'd started off wanting to do.

Peaking up at her, I saw that she was examining her hand with a curious expression on her face. _Shit_, my cum coated her hand in a white, sticky mess.

I realized a little too late that this might be considered rude and gross, especially with Bella. I'm sure that she's never had a guy cum on any part of her body.

"Shit, I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to do that all over you like that."

"No, it's okay. It's just… a little strange. I've never seen cum before." She interrupted me.

Was it sick that I got a thrill from knowing I was the first, and hopefully the only man, that would ever have my cum on her?

"I'll go get something to wipe that off with." I said, getting up from the bed to get a washcloth from the bathroom. Coming back, Bella was still exactly where I left her; legs bent under her and holding her hand up, looking at it.

Climbing back into bed, I took her hand and gently ran the cloth over her hand, cleaning away all evidence of my orgasm. I threw the cloth away somewhere in the room, not taking my eyes off her.

I realized that she still had on her clothes and I frowned. I hadn't even taken the time to take her shirt off.

_Well I'll just have to change that…._

Quickly divesting her of all clothing, including her new pink bra and panties, I lowered her down where I use to be, resting her head against the mountain of fluffy white pillows.

"Let me taste you baby." I murmured to her, and slid down her body, kissing every inch of skin I could on the way down. Her neck, her collarbones, her breasts, her ribs, her stomach, her hips…

Her fingers found my hair and curled them into it, pulling and scraping her fingernails across my scalp when I'd hit a particularly sensitive spot.

"Oh fuck." She whispered, arching into me. I loved it when she cussed, it sounded so much more dirty coming out of her sweet mouth than if someone else were to say it.

I stopped to dip my tongue into her bellybutton before continuing down lower, licking her navel until I reached one of my favorite spots on Bella.

God she had the most beautiful pussy ever. I would be the happiest man on earth if she let me stay between her thighs for the rest of our lives.

She was soaked, glistening as she was spread out before me, her little pink clit peaking out between her folds. I lowered my mouth to her and teased her with just the tip of my tongue, tracing her folds. She bucked her hips up, trying to get me to put more pressure on her.

Not yet little angel…

"Tell me what you want." I demanded softly.

"Edward…" She whined, but didn't say anything else.

"Come on angel… Just say it. It's alright, there's no one here but you and me. Just tell me what you want me to do." I tried to persuade her.

"Edward… lick me." She mumbled out.

"Where?" I asked, trying not to smile as I blew air over her pussy, my lips only about an inch away from her.

She groaned and arched her back, fisting the sheets in her hands.

"My… pussy. Please lick my pussy." She groaned.

Without saying anything, I attached my mouth to her, licking along her soft folds slowly, I worked my tongue between them to find her clit. Bella gasped loudly as my tongue made contact and flicked it.

_Mmmm… Fuck, she tastes so good_.

Unable to help myself, I sucked her clit into my mouth and bit down on it gently, watching her face the whole time. Her mouth opened in surprise and pleasure and her fingers pulled my hair almost painfully. She locked her thighs around my head, keeping me from moving even an inch. _I don't mind though…_

"Edward!" She cried out. I hummed into her pussy in response, making her jerk and gasp.

I set a rhythm with my tongue, circling her clit while sucking forcefully.

Bella was writhing under my actions; panting, moaning and crying out my name. Her hair splayed across the pillows and her face a delicious pink color.

I couldn't get enough of her.

Wrapping my arm around her thigh, I ran my hand over her stomach, traveling between her legs so my fingers grazed her pussy. Regretfully letting go of her clit, I blew across it softly, causing her to shiver and moan. I moved down to her opening, dipping my tongue inside and tasting her right from the source.

Fuck…

I made sure to make up for the loss of my mouth on her clit by rubbing my fingers over her in tight little circles while my tongue quickly worked in and out of her.

_Come on baby… cum for me… Cum in my mouth…_

I wish I could be saying that out loud to her, but I couldn't stand the thought of leaving this sweet taste. So I settled for putting all those words into my tongue and fingers.

In no time, I recognized the signs that Bella was about to cum. Her breathing became more shallow, she turned her face into the pillows, and started to tense up under me, her walls rippling around my tongue.

Pinching her clit between my thumb and forefinger and rolling them around it, I quickened my tongue, lapping at her like a thirsty man that had been stuck in the desert for years.

"Mmmm… Oh… fuck… _fuck_… Edward!" She cried out, nearly screaming it out, exploding in my mouth just like I wanted her to.

I didn't stop my licking, but gentled it; moving up to softly swirl around her clit, bringing her down from her intense orgasm. She continued to shake and whimper under my tongue.

"… Edward…" She panted.

"Yes angel?" I murmured, my lips still brushing her clit.

"Please Edward… I need you… I need you inside me." Her breathy little voice called to me, begging me to take her.

_Now, who was I to deny a lady? _

By now, my cock was definitely hard and ready to go again. Honestly, I was hard about two minutes after she gave me the hand job, but that first orgasm took the edge off my need so I could clearly take care of Bella.

Dragging my face back up her stomach, rubbing the little bit of scruff I'd grown throughout the day over her. I stopped to pay homage to her breasts that I neglected earlier, taking a nipple in my mouth and flicking it repeatedly, then did the same with the other side.

After making sure that I'd made it up to her breasts, I settled my hips between her thighs, holding my weight off her by resting on my elbows. Nudging my dick against her opening, I slid inside her slowly, inch by beautiful inch, her tight walls hugging me.

_Oh fuck… She's so fucking tight. Slow Edward, go slow, she's still new to this…_

Bella encased my hips in her legs, locking her ankles together around my back, holding me to her tightly. I studied her face for any sign that she might still be sore, but only saw pleasure etched into her lovely face.

Once I was seated fully inside her, I pulled back out nearly all the way before plunging back in, faster this time.

Every thrust inside her brought me closer and closer, her tight, hot walls clenching around me. Each time I thrust into her, I went faster, deeper, but tried not to push too hard. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her.

"You feel so fucking good angel." I groaned out. Bella's lips moved, but no words came out, just arousing little whimpers.

She ran her hands all over me; over my shoulders, down my arms, scratching her nails down my back. I'd be sure to have more marks in the morning and I love it.

"Cum for me Bella." I ground out, trying desperately to hold back my own release.

I dipped my head down to her breasts, sucking her nipple in my mouth, teasing it with my teeth.

"Oh… Edward!" She gasped. "I think I'm almost there…"

Pushing back into her once more, I froze and swiveled my hips around several times, brushing her clit in the process.

Bella threw her head back, her mouth opening in a silent scream and her eyes snapping shut. I could feel her convulsing around me and it was enough to push me over the edge.

"Fuck!" I yelled into her breasts, feeling myself pulse into her and tightening my grip on her hip to the point where I was sure to leave bruises.

"I love you… I love you… I love you…." Was all Bella said after a few seconds, mumbling it into my shoulder.

"I love you too… God I love you Bella." I said back to her.

We stayed together for another few minutes, just trying to regain our breath. Finally, I pulled out of her, rolling onto my side and bringing her with me.

Nuzzling into my chest, she breathed out contented sigh as her eyes fluttered closed. I stroked my fingers along her arm, trying to relax her into sleep.

Laying silently in my arms for a few minutes, I thought she had fallen asleep, but surprised me when her eyes opened back up and looked at me from under her lashes.

"I had a nightmare." Bella's little voice echoed in the dark bedroom.

"A nightmare? When?" I asked softly, not pausing in stroking her arm.

"Earlier today, when I feel asleep. It was about James; everything happened the same like while we were out shopping, but when he bumped into me, he kidnapped me and Alice and Rose didn't see it and he dragged me off and… and…." By the time she was getting to the end, she was starting to hyperventilate and her words weren't coming to her.

"Shhh… I've got you angel, he's never going to touch you again, he's not even going to get close enough to _look _at you." I promised, holding her to my chest.

"I was just so scared, he was hurting me and I couldn't do anything. I must have been screaming in my sleep because the next thing I knew, Jasper was waking me up telling me that I was okay." She cried into my chest.

"Don't worry angel… I have an idea. I won't let him touch you." I repeated.

"Promise?" She sniffled.

"Of course. I swear on my life that he'll never hurt you." I swore heatedly.

"How?" Bella asked weakly.

I thought about my idea again, wondering if it would just be better to leave the island, go somewhere that no one could ever find us.

"We'll go away somewhere." I told her.

Bella didn't seem upset with the idea, in fact she was more relaxed after I said it.

"Where will we go?" She asked.

"I'm still working out that little detail, but trust me, I'll find someplace that we can enjoy and relax. Think of it as a vacation." I suggested.

"That might be good." She sighed. "The only places I've ever been are Washington, Brazil and here."

"Well then, I'll have to find someplace absolutely amazing." I said, smiling down at her.

Looking down at her now peaceful face, I realized that she trusted me more than I first thought; she was trusting me with her life, completely and without question. I just hoped that her trust in me wouldn't be for nothing.

* * *

**So… Do you think Eddie is jumping the gun a little by wanting to leave the island, or do you think it's a good idea? And hold onto your panties, shit's about to hit the fan after this.**


	19. Chapter 19

**BPOV**

It took me forever to fall asleep. I was still too worried about everything and I had no desire to have a repeat of the nightmare I had earlier.

Curling tighter into Edward's side, I listened to his steady, deep breaths as he slept, hoping it would lull me into sleep. After over an hour of laying there, I finally fell asleep.

**~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~***

_A man bumped into me and I turned around to see who it was. _

_James. _

_I tired to move, to run, but I couldn't. It was like my legs were frozen. I turned toward Rose and Alice, but they weren't there. I searched frantically around for them, yelling their names. _

"_What are you looking for little Bella?" James asked menacingly. _

_My breath caught in my throat and I turned my head toward him. _

"_Leave me alone." I tried to say strongly, but it came out cracked and weak. _

"_Now why would I do a thing like that? You're just too irresistible." He licked his lips and looked me up and down like I was his dinner. _

_Sliding his arms around me slowly, he made sure brush against my breasts and chuckled. I cringed and tried to take a step back, but my legs still wouldn't move. _

"_So delicious…" He muttered, pulling me into his chest and picking me up like I was a rag-doll. _

"_Edward will kill you for this!" I screamed. _

_He just laughed at me and continued dragging me away. _

"_Edward! Edward help me! Please!" I cried out, calling for something I knew wouldn't come. _

_I broke out in sobs, trying in vain to struggle against his hold on me. _

"_Let me go asshole! Let me go! Edward!" I sobbed. _

"_Edward's not coming for you Bella. He lied… He doesn't love you. He _bought _you, how could he love someone like you? You're nothing but some pretty little toy for him to play with." James hissed in my ear. _

_No… No. He's wrong, Edward loves me. He wouldn't lie about that. This is just James trying to play mind games with me. _

"_Shut up! You don't know anything! Edward loves me and he'll come after me and kill you!" I shouted, stronger this time. _

"_If he really loved you, do you think he'd leave you so open to me? Where is Edward? He's not here. He's not trying to save you from me. He's on his private little island with his family and the newest slut he's interested in. You're mine now." He growled at me, squeezing me tighter and tighter. _

_I couldn't breathe, gasping for breath and still trying to call out for Edward. James was crushing me against him, literally squeezing the life out of me. _

_No… No… No… Please, Edward… help me. Please don't let him kill me._

"_Bella… Bella." I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn't find the air to call back to them. _

"Bella! Bella! Wake up! Please angel, open your eyes!"

I followed the command and my eyes snapped open, only to see Edward looking down at me with worry and fear etched into his face.

Letting out a sob, I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms so tightly around his neck that I was probably cutting off _his _air, but he didn't seem to mind. He held me to him and shushed me, whispering things to me that I still couldn't make out.

I cried into his neck, shuddering with force of my sobs. It was several minutes later before I started to calm down, the flow of my tears slowing.

"It's alright angel… He won't ever touch you, I swear. Calm down baby, it's okay." He murmured to me as he rocked me back and forth gently.

"E-Edward…" I stuttered.

"Yes angel?" He whispered to me.

"I-I'm s-sorry." I apologized.

"What the hell are you sorry for?" Edward exclaimed loudly. It was enough to make me jump and tense in his arms.

"That I'm such a mess! I can't even sleep without freaking out and you have to deal with it!" I nearly yelled, trying to keep from bursting into tears all over again.

Edward pried my arms off his neck and for a moment I was afraid he was going to leave, but he gripped my shoulders firmly in his hands and looked directly into my eyes.

"Bella, you are not a mess. You're upset and worried about some things and you're having a natural reaction. There's nothing wrong with that. And as for me dealing with it… Bella, I love you, calming you down after you have a nightmare is just one of the smaller things I would do for you." He said, not looking away from me.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I looked down and sniffled as I wiped my face. I realized that I was still completely naked and the sheet had fallen down around my waist. Blushing, I pulled the sheet back up to cover my chest and heard Edward chuckle.

He leaned forward to nuzzle his face into my hair. "Angel, you don't have to cover up. We were doing some very interesting things that required both of us to be naked just a few hours ago."

"I'm sorry." I repeated.

"Bella, I tol-"

"No, I'm not sorry like the first time. I'm sorry for… being sorry. I know you'd do anything for me Edward, I was just so overwhelmed." I explained.

He sighed and pulled me back to him, his face still buried in my hair. "It's okay, I understand."

After I calmed down fully and he'd wiped all the tears away from my face, Edward laid back down, pulling me down on top of him and started running his fingers through my hair. I hummed in contentment and breathed in deeply, getting a nose full of cinnamon, shampoo and coffee. Edward. Even his scent was warm, calming the anxiety in my stomach and chest.

"Do you think you can go back to sleep angel, or would you like to do something else?" Edward asked softly.

"I don't know if I can go back to sleep, but what is there to do in the middle of the night?" I asked. I guess we could watch another movie, maybe I would pass out in the middle of it.

"I've got an idea. Go put your swim suit on, please?" He requested.

"My swim suit?" I muttered curiously. "But we can't swim… it's like three o'clock at night."

"Just trust me… please." He pouted at me, even batting his eyelashes and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, give me a couple minutes." I relented.

I went to stand up, pulling the sheet with me and keeping it wrapped around my body, but was jerked back a little by something. When I turned around to see what I'd caught myself on, I saw Edward grinning up at me, his arm stretched out across the bed and his fingers clinging to the sheet.

"Leave it." He said playfully.

"Edward…" I whined, resisting the urge to stomp my foot.

"Leave it here. You're just walking to the bathroom, it's silly to carry it with you so short a distance." He tried to reason with me.

"But I'll be naked." I said pathetically.

Edward snorted and laughed. "Bella, we've had sex a few times, I won't mind seeing you naked at all and you should be comfortable with it."

"Oh." Was all I managed to say.

_I should be comfortable with it. _

Should I? He had a point; we've had sex already, why was I so shy about walking across the room naked?

I was about to tell him alright and drop the sheet, but he spoke up before me. "Shit. I didn't mean to say it like that. I just meant to say that I want you to be comfortable around me, I want you to be relaxed enough, at least in this bedroom, to walk around with or without clothes."

"I am comfortable with you, it's _myself _that I'm not comfortable with." I admitted.

"Come here baby." Edward murmured. I turned around to face him fully as he moved around on the bed so that he was now on my side on it, sitting on the edge with me standing between his legs.

"Can I remove this?" He asked softly.

I bit my lip, but nodded, curious about what he was doing. I let go of my death grip on the sheet and let it fall to the floor in a puddle around my feet. Edward's warm hands gripped my hips, bringing me closer to him and I watched as he leaned in and pressed light kisses over my stomach and hips.

My eyelids fluttered as his hands began moving up towards my breasts, cupping them and brushing his thumbs over my nipples in a slow pace.

"Why don't you feel comfortable with yourself?" He asked lowly, not stopping the motions of his fingers.

"I…" Why wasn't I comfortable with my body? I couldn't remember. The slow burn Edward was causing between my legs wasn't helping with my train of thought.

"You're beautiful… the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Your hair is silky and such a pretty chocolate color. Your eyes are big and deep and it's like I can see your soul in them. Your lips… full and soft and pink. Should I go on?" He recited to me.

I couldn't say anything, my mouth open like an idiot as I looked down at him. He took my silence as an invitation to continue.

"Your neck is long and white and smooth, I just want to kiss it all day long. Your breasts… Oh god your breasts, they're perfect; round, not too big or too small, just a perfect handful. With these pretty little pink nipples." He covered one with his mouth and sucked sharply. I gasped and quickly brought my hands to his shoulders to hold myself up. He released my nipple with a pop and licked his lips. "Tastes so good. And your tiny waist that flare out perfectly into these hips that I can grab hold of. And last there's your legs. I love your legs wrapped around me when I'm fucking you, squeezing my waist and pulling me closer into you."

By the end of Edward's speech, I was blushing, my breathing had sped up and I wanted to jump on him.

"And of course, I can't forget your blush. All cute and pink, but oh so sexy. Especially when I can follow it down your neck to your chest." He reached up and ran his fingers down my neck as he said it, coming to rest against my upper chest, right above my breasts. "I love you, mind, body and soul. And you should never have to be shy about anything around me." He said, bending me down toward him and kissing me.

I was at a loss for words, choosing to lose myself in the kiss and try to tell him everything that way instead. Our lips worked frantically, going from slow and gentle one second to fast and rough the next. Edward pulled me into his lap sideways, his hands running all over my body, driving me crazy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him to me.

Running his hand up the inside of my thigh, he stopped just short of where I wanted him to touch me most.

"Put your swim suit on now, angel." He whispered and winked, pulling his hand away.

Blushing and flustered, I jumped off his lap and smacked his chest playfully.

"All my clothes are still upstairs." I told him.

"I'll go get it for you, go ahead and go into the bathroom and do stuff."

I laughed and watched as he walked out the bedroom buck naked. A quick glance at the clock told me it was only 4:03 am and I sighed. Edward shouldn't have to be awake at this ungodly hour because I had a freak out moment, but I wasn't about to bring it up to him again.

I went ahead and walked into the bathroom and tried to tame my tangled hair. I needed to take a shower, but if Edward insisting I wear a swim suit, we were most likely going swimming, so a shower would be unnecessary.

I felt warm hands on my hips and looked up to see Edward in the mirror, standing behind me. I smiled and blushed an even deeper red as he pressed his cock into my lower back, groaning softly into my ear.

"Here is your swim suit." He murmured and set it on the vanity in front of me.

"Thank you." I said and grabbed it, then quickly slipped out of Edwards' grasp. He gasped and looked like I took away his favorite toy.

"Go put your swim trunks on." I told him, deliberately bending over a little when I put on my bottoms. Teasing him like he did me a few minutes ago. I heard him huff and grumble under his breath, then stomped out of the bathroom.

I tried to suppress a giggle as I finished putting on the suit, reaching my arms around my back at a very unattractive angle to tie it around the back. Walking out of the bathroom, I saw that Edward was waiting for me patiently and smiled when he saw me.

"Beautiful." He whispered against my forehead, his lips ghosting across my face.

I giggled, but it quickly turned to a gasp as Edward wrapped his hands under my thighs and lifted me up into his arms and began walking through the house.

"Are we going swimming?" I asked.

"Maybe." He replied teasingly.

"Edward…" I fake whined.

"We're not going swimming in the ocean." He stated.

I frowned at that. Not swimming in the ocean? Where else was there to swim around here? I hadn't seen a pool…

He carried me through the house, not bothering to switch on any lights as we went. Coming to the back door he managed to open it while still supporting me against him and walked out onto a deck, much like Rose and Emmett's, that wrapped around a corner of the house. It was still dark outside, but when Edward flipped a light switch, the entire back part of the house lit up, revealing a hot tub that I'd never noticed before.

_How had I missed that? _

"We're on the back-side deck, it's built so that it's mostly hidden and the only way you can get up here is through the door we just came though. It's completely private." He explained when he saw the wondering expression on my face.

I looked around and saw that there were indeed no stairs leading up from anywhere, the entire deck was completely closed off.

"You wanna get in the hot tub? It might help you relax some." He murmured into my ear.

I bit my lip and looked longingly at the tub, the water bubbling in a very inviting way.

"Oh god yes… It looks so good." I said.

Edward set me down and led me across the deck towards the hot tub, stepping into it first and helping me into it next. He sat down and pulled me down between his legs, encircling me in his arms and I leaned against his chest, his chin resting on the top of my head.

The bubbles mixed with the warm water soothed my muscled almost immediately and I melted into Edward. He pulled my hair over my left shoulder and his lips peppered kisses down the opposite side of my neck.

"Is this better, angel?" He asked between kisses.

All I could do was whimper. I felt Edward smile into my neck before nipping my ear, making me shudder. My back arched, making my butt press into his obvious erection under the water.

"Bella, I don't think we want to do this right now." He groaned and stopped kissing neck. It was easy to see that he was panting heavily and despite his words, he definitely wanted to do this right now.

"Why not?" I asked, trying to sound seductive.

"Well…" He trailed off, so I started grinding back into his cock. "You umm… you just had a nightmare and I don't want to… take advantage of your… fuck…" He groaned.

I tilted my head back on his shoulder so my lips were brushing the shell of his ear and whispered, "You know Edward, I've always wanted to have sex in a hot tub. It's kind of like a fantasy I have."

"Jesus motherfucking Christ." He blurted out.

"Please Edward. I'm past my dream now…" I didn't even have to finished what I was saying because Edward was trying to maneuver me around to face him.

I helped him by turning quickly, straddling his lap and snaking my arms around his neck.

"This isn't going to be slow and gentle, Bella." He warned me while slipping his fingers in my bottoms and sliding them down my legs.

"I know, I just need you Edward." I assured him. I watched as he threw my bottoms out of the hot tub and started to fiddle with his trunks, releasing his cock.

Then I got a little nervous. We'd never done it this way. I've never been on top, I don't know what to do.

Edwards' fingers glided up my inner thigh and into my pussy, running over my folds before making contact with my clit.

His fingers worked their magic, rubbing me unrelentingly, then sliding a finger inside me.

"Oh…" I breathed.

"Are you ready, angel?" He asked as his finger worked inside of me.

I nodded my head almost frantically, needing to feel all of him inside me. But I had a problem…

"I don't know what to do." I whispered.

"Just sit down on me, baby. It's easy, do what comes naturally." He murmured huskily, guiding my hips closer to him.

He took one hand off my hips and moved to hold his cock while I lined up over him. I sank down a little, feeling his hot tip nudging my opening. I whimpered as he pushed into me. In this position, he felt so much… bigger. Not that he needed to be any bigger… that was the problem.

"Relax baby, relax." He whispered soothingly, feeling me tense.

I took a deep breath and relaxed, letting the fullness of Edward inside me wash over me. I realized that he was still only halfway inside me, so I did as he suggested and just sat down fully onto his lap until my butt was resting on his thighs.

"Fuck… Are you alright?" Edward groaned, his fingers sinking into the flesh at my hips.

"Yes, but what should I do now?" I asked.

"Move up and down, like you're riding me or bouncing up and down." He explained into my neck. I did as he said and started slowly moving up, feeling every inch of him sliding out of me.

I soon realized that I could control how fast, deep and hard we went, able to make the best sounds come out of Edwards' mouth when I was going slow and torturing him. His hands on my hips guided me, but never tried to take away the control I had.

The water sloshing all over the place, spilling out onto the deck as I moved up and down. I would have been extremely embarrassed if my mind wasn't completely overcome with Edward and the sensations he was creating in me.

Soon I was gasping, every nerve ending in my body on fire as I bounced on him. Edwards' head was tilted back, his face scrunched up in pleasure.

"Edward, I think I'm gonna…" I moaned. I wasn't quite _right there _yet. Edward leaned his head forward enough to capture one of nipples in his mouth, sucking roughly.

"Come on baby, cum for me. Cum all over my cock, Bella." He growled against my breast.

I gasped at his words and tone, never really hearing him talk like that. I liked it…

"Yes… Oh Edward! Almost… almost… please." I panted furiously, increasing my pace on him.

Edward moved one hand up and cupped my breast, twirling my nipple around with his fingers and then bit into my neck, pushing me over the edge.

I cried out, burying my face into his neck and felt my inner muscles clench tightly around him.

"Bella… Fuck!" Edward yelled, freezing under me. He pumped up into me a few more times slowly, panting against my neck and soothing his tongue over the spot he bit.

I collapsed on his chest, trying to catch my breath. We sat together in silence for a few minutes, Edwards' hands running over my body and I'd occasionally pepper his chest with light kisses.

"Are you tired now?" He asked smugly.

"Shut up." I grumbled.

He chuckled and shifted around in the water, getting a good hold on me before standing up. I let him carry me out of the hot tub and back into the house, but I fell asleep against his chest before we even reached our room.

**~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Angel… Wake up, it's noon." Edwards' sleepy voice called to me.

"No… Go away." I grumbled, pulling the blanket over my head.

"Jasper called and said we need to get up." He explained, but that did nothing for me.

"So…?" I mumbled.

I was still refusing to open my eyes, hoping Edward would let me go back to sleep. It didn't look like that was going to happen.

"Please get up… I'm hungry." He pouted.

I groaned loudly and reluctantly pulled back the covers.

"I need coffee and a shower first." I mumbled.

"Coffee is right here." His arm moved to the I was face to cup with delicious smelling coffee. "And you can take a shower. I think you know where it is." He said playfully.

I practically ripped the cup out of his hand and sat up, glaring at his smiling face.

"You're awfully chipper this morning." I commented dryly.

"I have good reason to be. We had amazing sex just a few hours ago and I got to go to sleep and wake up with you curled up next to me. Now I get to spend a nice, relaxing day with the beautiful woman that I love." He said, grinning at me the entire time.

I couldn't help but smile and feel my grumpy mood disappear.

"I love you too, but could you tone it down a little? I'm still trying to wakeup, coffee or not." I said.

He left me alone after that, letting me finish my coffee in peace and take a shower.

When I went into the bathroom and caught my reflection in the mirror I made a face. My hair looked like a birds nest, and it looked like I'd been drooling a little in my sleep. There was also a purple bruise on my neck and I realized it's the same place that Edward bite me earlier this morning. My eyes widened and my hand automatically snapped up to my neck to cover the area.

_Damn it… This is going to be hard to cover up. Though it did feel really good when he did it. _

I bit my lip at the memory of only a few hours ago and started the shower. I made sure to wash my hair and body thoroughly, washing the sweat and sex off. I was also thankful I now had a razor of my own and shaved my legs again, not wanting to be even slightly stubbly for Edward. Even I know that nothing ruins a moment like prickly legs.

Getting out of the shower and drying off in a fluffy towel, I remembered that I haven't moved any of my clothes down here and cursed. I'd have to walk up in my towel to get clothes.

I practically ran up the stairs, I looked around and didn't see Edward in the living room. _I hope he's not in the kitchen trying to make his own breakfast._

But when I opened the door to the room, I found Edward packing all the clothes I'd just bought into a box.

At first I panicked; had I done something wrong? Was he kicking me out? Then I took a breath and pushed those thoughts aside. There had to be a good reason for Edward packing all my things away… right?

"Edward… What are you doing?" I asked tentatively.

His head snapped up to me and seemed to just realize that I was there.

"I'm moving all your things downstairs for you. I thought I'd be easier to put it all in a box than make several trips up and down." He explained.

"Oh, thanks." I breathed out in relief.

"What did you think I was doing?" He asked, stopping the packing he was doing.

"I thought you were packing my stuff." I said.

He looked at me for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"You thought I was going to make you leave?" He asked in disbelief.

"No! Well... m-maybe, but just for a second." I stuttered nervously.

Edwards' face fell and I instantly felt like a bitch. I can't believe that after everything, I walk in on something like this and instantly think the worst, that he's throwing me out.

"Edward, I'm sor-" I started.

"No, it's good. Was there something you needed?" He cut me off stiffly. The way he was talking reminded me of the other morning when he left suddenly and it made me squirm.

"I just came up to get some clothes." I said softly, hugging the towel to me tighter.

He tossed a pair of black shorts and a dark gray crop-top on the bed and went back to throwing everything inside the box.

"Edward, I didn't mean to think the way did. I couldn't help it. The thought only crossed my mind for a second, then I knew that you wouldn't do that to me. Please don't be angry."

He sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not angry at you Bella, I'm just… disappointed. Nothing I've done so far has assured you of how much I love you, has it?"

"That's not true! I know you love me! It's just my stupid insecurities floating around in my head. I only thought it for a split second, but I knew you wouldn't do that, I thought I was an idiot for it even crossing my mind." I told him.

He nodded but still looked a little sad and a thought entered my mind.

What's the one thing that would show him I trust him, I'm comfortable around him and love him?

I stepped closer to him and breathed in deeply, clutching the towel tighter to me for a few seconds before releasing my breath and completely let go of the towel.

It made a whooshing sound as it fell to my ankles and Edwards' head snapped up and eyes widened.

"Bella…" He trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Edward, I love you and trust you and I'm comfortable around you. Don't be upset about this, please." I said, trying not to think of the fact that I was standing wet and buck naked in front of him.

All he did was stare at me, his mouth hanging open and I was getting a little self conscious, but I pushed it back down. He eventually regained his composure and grinned at me.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted, angel. I was just hurt a little that you'd think I'd throw you out over nothing. Hell, that I'd even throw you out at all." He apologized.

"Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?" I asked.

He nodded and reached out for me, trying to pull me to him. "Do you want another round?" He asked huskily, not taking his eyes off my breasts.

"No Edward, not right now. I need to get dressed and make you something to eat, and didn't you say Jasper called for something?" I resisted, squirming around in his arms.

He sighed over exaggeratedly and pouted up at me. "Fine…"

I giggled and deliberately reached across him, practically pressing my breasts against his face, to grab the clothes off the bed. He moaned and I felt his lips brush across my nipple, making me gasp and jerk back, giving him a warning look.

At least he has enough decency to look sheepish. "I can't help myself, I love your breasts so much."

"Is that all you love? My breasts?" I mocked sadness as I pulled on a pair of panties.

"No, I love other parts of you too. Especially the part you just covered up with that scrap of fabric." He replied, nodding toward my underwear.

I blushed and pulled the shorts up my legs, causing his mock frown to deepen.

"Prepare yourself, I'm about to cover up your most beloved possessions." I warned sarcastically as I held up a bra.

Edward threw his arm over his eyes and flopped back on the bed in horror when I put it on and snapped it together.

"Hand me the shirt." I said. With the arm not covering his face, he blindly searched around for the shirt and held it out for me when he found it. I giggled and slipped it over my head and jumped on his stomach, straddling him and tried to pry his arms away from his face.

"Come on, I'll make us something to eat." I said and pulled on his arm.

Edward let me pull his arm away and sat up so we were chest to chest and looked down at my shirt.

"At least I can see your stomach… Your belly button is so cute." He smirked and traced around said belly button with his pointer finger.

I began to laugh and squirm. "Stop! I'm ticklish there!"

When he didn't stop I jumped up and ran out of the room, but he quickly caught me, lifting me up and carrying me down the stairs, but released me so we could go to the kitchen to salvage for food. I had a feeling there wouldn't be much breakfast type food that's edible.

As I opened the fridge, I saw that I was right; there wasn't much in here. Edward needs to start stocking his fridge with food now that I'm here and can actually cook for him.

"What are you going to make?" Edward asked, walking up and snaking his arms around my waist from behind me.

"Well I was thinking about maybe doing an omelet, you've got cheese and - unbelievably - sausage… but no eggs." I muttered, trying to focus on the items or lack there of in the fridge.

"I'll go over to Ems' place and get a few eggs." He said turning me around and crashed his lips into mine, plying my lips apart for his tongue.

I moaned and raised up onto my toes, trying to deepen the kiss. His warm hands found the bare skin of my stomach and rubbed. I was disappointed only for a moment when he removed his mouth from mine, but quickly attached it to my neck.

"I'll go… get the… um… the eggs" I mumbled between moans brokenly.

Edward said something against my skin, but I couldn't hear what it was. He pushed me back gently until my back hit the fridge.

"Don't go anywhere." He whispered and kissed me again, cupping my head and tilting my face up.

"I need eggs." I mumbled against his lips.

"Why?" He muttered back.

"Because you… don't have any… and I need to… make… breakfast." I reminded him, panting out between kisses.

Edward groaned against my lips and swiped his tongue across my lips one last time sucked my lower lip into his mouth and nibbled on it, then released it slowly.

_Jesus Christ… What did I need again? _

"Go get your eggs, I'm going to take a quick shower." He said, backing out of the kitchen.

I stood there breathless, trying to get my bearings.

Right… eggs. I need to go get eggs from Rose's house.

Checking myself over once to make sure Edward hadn't unbuttoned anything without me noticing, I walked out. The sun was brighter now, hitting my face with great intensity and I had to squint. The water was a perfect clear blue and looked calm, peaceful. It made me want to jump in and spend all day floating around.

In no time, I came to the house and knocked on the door, expecting Emmett to come bounding up to open it, but instead I got a very glum sounding 'come in'.

I frowned, but walked in anyway.

Coming upon the kitchen, I saw Alice, Rose, Emmett and Jasper huddled around the island counter, all of them looking very sullen about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked to no one in particular.

"_Tanya _is coming." Alice said, saying the name in a nasally tone and rolled her eyes.

Tanya? Who's Tanya?

"Who's Tanya?" I asked the question in my mind out loud.

"She's a… 'friend' of the family. Her mother, Sasha Denali is friends with Esme and Tanya just assumes that means she's our BFF as well. She's always trying to get me and Rose together for 'girl time' and gossip about mindless shit, saying that's what 'best friends do'. _Ick_. Tanya's a total uppity bitch and we can't stand to be around her. Not even Esme and Carlisle like her." She explained, the entire time her face was pinched together like she was thinking of something gross.

"Is she really that bad?" I asked in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, she makes me look like I've got rainbows and sunshine shooting out of my ass." Rose confirmed. "And you better watch her around Edward."

_That caught my attention. _

"Why should I do that?" I asked.

"Tanya and Edward… slept together a couple times. I think it was well over a year ago and they only got together once or twice, but still, watch her. She's tricky and doesn't care if a man she wants has a girlfriend or a wife, she just takes what she wants." Rose further explained. "I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of men that have cheated on their wife with Tanya. I don't even know why Edward slept with her anyway… he was probably just bored." She shook her head almost disappointedly.

All the blood drained out of my face as I listened to her words.

Edward had slept with this woman.

I understand and accept that Edward had sex with women long before I came along, but that doesn't mean I wanted one of them shoved and paraded around in front of my face.

"Oh…" I mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"You don't need to worry about her. Edward loves you and I bet he won't even look twice at her when she gets here." Alice tried to assure me.

"Is she very pretty?" I asked, knowing I sounded childish but I didn't care. I needed to know what I'm dealing with here.

My fears were intensified as Rose and Alice shared a strange look.

"Well… it depends on you view of beauty." Alice said slowly.

"Alice, just answer my question." I demanded.

"She's a model." She blurted out, cringing as she said it.

_A model? Holy shit… _

I was trying to keep my breathing even and not let the feelings of utter horror and worry cross my face. Instead, I gave an awkward smile and tried to laugh, but I'm sure I sounded like I was choking.

"A model. Wow, I bet that's fun. Uh, when is she getting here?" I wanted to know.

"They'll be here in an hour." Jasper told me.

An hour. I had an hour to get myself looking the best I've ever looked.

"Okay. I'm just going to… uh… go." I mumbled and tried not to run out the door.

_A model… a woman that Edward has had sex with… will be here in an hour. _

I couldn't help the visions of Edward and some beautiful mystery girl rolling around in the same bed that we'd just slept in, made love in, laughed and cried in.

An ache went through my chest and tears welled up in my eyes.

No, I can't think like that. It was in the past and Edward loves me now, some girl he slept with God only knows how long ago can't upset me.

Traipsing my way through the warm sand, I made my way back home, desperate to get ready and question Edward about this. I nearly slammed the door shut behind me in my haste and sprinted through the house into the bedroom.

Instead, collided with a wet, fresh out of the shower, bare-chested and in nothing but a towel Edward.

Oh my.

I almost forgot why I was in such a hurry.

"Hey… You don't have eggs with you." He said, confused. "Did they not have any?"

"Uh no, Emmett said he just used the last of them." I didn't know whether or not they had eggs, I didn't even ask.

"That's weird, Emmett never runs out of food." Edward muttered.

"Alice told me that someone named Tanya Denali is coming with her mom." I suddenly changed the subject, trying not to let on what I knew about Tanya.

The second I said her name, he froze.

"Oh God. Not that crazy bitch." He mumbled, sounding extremely panicked.

"Edward!" I was appalled that he'd call anyone a 'crazy bitch'. Though from what I've heard, she might deserve it.

"What? I'm sorry, but she's insane! She tries to worm her way into our family and she always walks around in like five inch heels in the _sand _and the _ocean_! Not even Rose does that! It looks ridiculous! I think there's a screw loose up there." He yelled almost hysterically and pointed to his head.

"Alice and Rose said that you slept with her a few times." I mumbled, doing my best to keep the hurt out of my voice. I don't think it was working.

He cursed and ran his hand through his hair, looking exasperated.

"I slept with her _once_, and I was drunk." He started to explain. "We went out to some club and I got hammered, she came onto me and I was single and at the time figured, why not? The next morning when I woke up I couldn't believe I did that. I'd always thought of her as more of a sister or cousin, but obviously she thought we could be more. Then when I told her that we were never doing this again and that it was a mistake, she flipped out, saying that she thought what we shared was special and that she was heartbroken." He rolled his eyes.

"What happened then?" I asked, completely enthralled, despite the fact he was telling me about sleeping with her.

"She threatened to tell her mom that I'd… well, that I'd basically raped her if I didn't agree to start dating her."

I gasped and my eyes widened. She'd say that he raped her unless he went out with her? Oh god, she _is _crazy.

"I told her she was insane and called Carlisle to warn him what Tanya was trying to pull." Edward continued. "By the time she got back to the island and was running to her mom, ready to cry rape, Carlisle, Esme and Sasha were already aware of her plan and thankfully wouldn't listen to a word she said. It didn't help her story that she didn't have a single mark on her body and when Carlisle called the club we were at, the bartender that had been working swore Tanya was all over me and she pretty much dragged me out of the club while I was out of it. So if anyone was going to say rape, it should have been me."

"That's awful. What a horrible person to try to do that to you!" I said angrily. The thought of some slut trying to blackmail my Edward made my blood boil. He nodded in agreement and sighed.

"She didn't come back for over a year, even though Sasha and her other two daughters - Kate and Irina - would visit every couple months. When she finally did come back, she acted like none of it ever happened and tried to go back to how it was before, which was still really annoying. Rose and Alice got the worst of it. Em, Jazz and I would always make up excuses about going into work or having a last minute meeting, so they'd have to spend all day with her. They had no place to run and they hated us for it." He laughed at the memory in his head.

"So she's only been her once since she tried to blackmail you?" I wanted to clarify.

"Yes, and that was about seven months ago." He said.

Seven months ago… I did the math; she didn't come back for more than a year after what she tried to pull, then another seven months since she last visited. So that meant it had happened around two years ago.

"You said something about Sasha having two other daughters, will they be coming too?" I asked.

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "They might, it just depends on if they have other plans over the next few days or not. Kate and Irina are a few years older than Tanya, so they've got more… detailed lives. They both have busy jobs and Kate is married and Irina has a boyfriend. I actually like them a lot more than Tanya; they're much nicer and cooler to hang out with. I think you'll like them if they decide to come."

I sat there in silence, not really knowing what to make of all this. Edward had slept with her, _but _he was drunk and she basically took advantage of him. Plus the next morning he was disgusted by what he did.

"Bella… Is that alright? Are you upset with me?" Edward asked softly.

"Why would I be upset with you?" I wanted to know.

"I thought you might be upset that I'd... slept with her." He elaborated.

"I'm not upset, at least not about you sleeping with her. It was a long time ago and didn't mean anything to you. All I want to know is; was it in… in _our _bed?" I whispered the last part, trying not to lose control of my emotions. If he said, I think I'd have to burn the sheets and mattress then take a very long shower in hot water and scrub myself raw.

"No. She took me to a hotel room that she rented, I swear. She doesn't know how to drive a boat, anyway and I was way too plastered to drive it." He told me, eyes pleading for me to believe him.

"I believe you, Edward. Thank you. I don't think I could have stood that happening in…"

"In our bed." He finished, smiling at me.

I blushed at being caught at saying it.

"I also noticed that last night you said 'take me to our room'. Does that mean…" He trailed off hopefully.

My fingers intertwined with each other nervously. "Yes… I'll stay in the bedroom with you."

Edward's face broke into the biggest grin and he pulled me to him, mashing me against his wet chest. I was so engrossed in our talk, that I totally forgot that he was even standing here in a towel and that I had to get ready.

"Edward, I have to go get changed and stuff, I've already wasted almost twenty minutes." I said, pulling away from him.

"What do you mean you have to change? I think you look great." He said.

I rolled my eyes and managed to pull out of his arms. "Of course you say that Edward, you think I always look good. I just have to change, okay?"

"Wait." Edward grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Is this about Tanya coming?"

"No." I said strongly, but he wasn't fooled.

"Bella…" He groaned.

"Alice told me that Tanya's a model, I just want to… be up to standard." I blurted out.

"Who's standard? The crazy woman's?" He asked disbelievingly.

"No." I said again. "I just want to look good for your friends."

"They're not my friends."

"Okay, your _parents _friends. I just want to look halfway decent, Edward. Is that a crime?" I snapped, ripping my arm out of grasp.

He took a step back and looked at me apprehensively. My eyes widened as I realized what I'd done and buried my face in my hands, trying to hide.

"I'm sorry Edward. I… I didn't mean to yell. I'm just stressed out about this for some reason, I don't get it." I apologized.

He sighed and stepped back to me, encircling me in his arms once again.

"Bella, it's alright. I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have pushed. Do what you want, just don't over do it, please. I still want it to be you under all the primping." He said into my hair.

The door swung open and Alice and Rose came running through it.

"Bella, I'm sorry for springing it on you like I did and Rose and I wanted to come over to help you get ready." Alice rushed, talking a hundred miles per hour.

"Oh God my eyes!" Rose screeched when she realized Edward practically naked.

"Rose, I'm wearing a towel, it's not much different from wearing swim shorts." Edward sighed.

"It _is _different! A towel is more _sexual _than shorts, Edward! It's gross! Plus you're still all…wet and…gross! It's worse than seeing my brother naked!" She yelled, covering her eyes.

Alice gave her a sideways look that clearly meant to say she thought Rose was overreacting. "Rose, _he is my brother _and I can stand it. I agree that a towel is worse than shorts and he needs to put some clothes on, but I can still handle it. A little… go put some freaking clothes on towel boy!"

Edward grumbled, but listened to his sister and walked away toward the bedroom.

"Now we can focus on you." Alice said, walking up to me. "We have thirty minutes to find and get you in an outfit, and do your hair and put on a little bit of makeup. You don't need much, just some mascara and a little lip gloss. Malibu Whore Barbie will probably be caked in makeup."

Rose stepped in and pulled me by the arm toward the bedroom. "I'll work on hair and makeup, you find an outfit, Alice." She commanded.

"Umm… you do know that Edward is in the bedroom getting dressed?" I asked Rose.

"I know. Edward, cover your white ass, we're coming in!" She yelled seconds before flinging the door open.

Edward stood in the middle of the room, still clutching the towel to himself haphazardly. He obviously had already removed it to start changing and had to make a mad grab for it when he heard Rose.

"Jesus, Rose! What the fuck?" He growled.

"Edward… Be nice." I warned.

He made a face at Rose but didn't say another word.

"We just need the bathroom ass-wipe. You can resume doing whatever you were doing once we're safely locked inside." She said, not stopping dragging me along.

Alice made a pit stop at the large box of my clothes I had yet to put away in Edwards' closet. She made a face that clearly said she was horrified and clutched at her chest.

"Oh god… it hurts… The clothes… why are all the new pretty clothes in a _box_!" She yelled dramatically.

"Well, I had them up in the guest room, then Edward asked me to move into his bedroom and I of course said yes, but I haven't had time to find space and put them away in his closet." I explained.

Alice huffed and started looking through the clothes.

Rose and I went into the bathroom and set down her purse of the vanity and told me to jump up there. She began with my hair, running a brush through it and fluffing it out with her fingers.

"You know, I don't think we should do anything with your hair, it's still a little damp so we should just let it dry naturally. It'll give you a nice wave to it." She muttered almost to herself.

I just nodded and let her do her magic. I was actually glad that she wouldn't be torturing my hair.

So instead, she pulled out a black tube and told me to look up while she applied mascara to my lashes.

She was dabbing a little bit of concealer under my eyes when Alice walked in with my outfit.

A light red (Alice said it was salmon) V-neck dress with some ruffles along the neckline and a little belt that tied around the waist. It was light weight and breezy, perfect for a beach but still pretty enough for meeting your boyfriends parents best friend and her children.

She also handed me a pair of silver sandals that wrapped and tied around my ankles. When I looked closer at the ties, I could see that they were intricately braided.

When I finished, Rose and Alice examined me thoroughly, then smiled and nodded their heads in approval.

"You will make that bitch so jealous!" Rose giggled and clapped in glee.

I took a look in the mirror and saw I did look very pretty. My hair had dried by now and was naturally curled down my back and shoulders, the dress hanging in a way that extenuated the curves I had.

Edward walked in wearing a pair of charcoal gray jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt.

_God… Was it possible for this man look bad in anything? _

"Esme called and said they just arrived on shore. And Kate, Irina and their husband and boyfriend have come too. And apparently Tanya has a _friend _with her." He informed us.

Rose made a gagging noise and walked out without another word.

"Oh dear… Eleazar and Garrett have come too. This is going to be fun." Alice muttered.

"Why?" I asked.

"Garrett and Eleazar are a lot like Emmett and Jasper, so when they get together, it's like having two Emmett's bouncing around and telling jokes and pulling pranks, and two Jaspers swinging from being serious to charming your panties off. It can get very dangerous around here with all four of them together." Alice explained as she finished up putting some lip gloss on me.

I could see how that could be a problem. One Emmett was more than enough, I shuddered at thinking of two of them. And Jasper… That was just… wow.

Alice finished up and let me jump off the counter.

"Ali, why don't you go ahead, I want a minute with Bella." Edward said to her.

She gave Edward a knowing look and skipped out, closing the door behind her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I want to give you something." He said softly, looking into my eyes.

I watched as he pulled a little box out of his pocket that looked awfully like a jewelry box.

"Umm…" I didn't know what to say.

"It's not what you think, it's not a ring." He assured me.

Edward handed me the little red box. "It was Esme's, she told me she thought I should to give it to you and I happen to agree with her."

Gingerly opening the box, I gasped when I saw what was inside.

A silver heart shaped locket was nestled in red velvet. It was beautiful, with a small diamond shaped Sapphire set in the center with intricate silver swirls branching out from the Sapphire. It had a vintage look to it that made me love it even more.

I fought to keep the tears that had gathered in my eyes from falling.

"Why…?" I whispered, unable to take my eyes off it.

"This morning when you were sleeping, I couldn't go to sleep myself, so I went over to my parents. I kinda told Esme that I told you I love you and she got up and disappeared to her room for a minute. At first I thought she was upset and she just left, but then she came out carrying that box. She told me that I should give it to you, that she'd saved it for me to give the girl that I love. She did the same thing for Emmett; the charm bracelet that Rose wears all the time was Esme's." Edward explained.

Now that I thought about it, Rose does always wear a silver charm bracelet on her right wrist that holds several different charms on it, I just haven't gotten a close look at it.

"And it was even better when I told her what your birthday is." He continued. "Apparently the Sapphire is Septembers' birthstone. So when I told her that she flipped, going on about fate and shit." He laughed at his mothers antics.

"Yeah, it is." Was all I could say. I was still having trouble forming the correct words to express the emotions running through me.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously.

"I-I love it!" I finally exclaimed. "But are you sure you want to give this to me? It's your mom's, doesn't she want to keep it?"

"Of course I want to give it to you! And my mom doesn't need it anymore, she's had it most of her life and wants me to give it to you. I love you Isabella Swan, and if you wear it, my entire family will know that I love you, as well. I want everyone to know, I can't help it." He smiled toward the end.

I looked down at it again, staring intently, examining every detail. It truly is beautiful.

"Will you help me put it on?" I asked, smiling up at him.

His face broke out in a grin and took the locket out of the box, motioning for me to turn around. I lifted my hair out of the way and felt his fingers brush the back of my neck as he secured the clasp. I released my hair and turned to look at it in the mirror.

"It's beautiful Edward, thank you." I whispered, fingering it gently.

"I should be thanking you for giving me the wonderful, beautiful woman to give it to." He whispered back into my neck, kissing the chain.

We spent a few more moments in silence, me playing with the locket with Edward resting his chin on my shoulder, watching me in the mirror.

"I think we should go out now. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long." I finally spoke.

"Alright, let's go say hi to everyone." Edward muttered sarcastically.

We made our way out hand in hand and my nerves suddenly doubled. From what everyone's told me, she's obviously a bitch, so I'll have to be on my guard around her. I'm not stupid, I know I'm going to be a target for her. She seems to want Edward very much, enough for her to try to blackmail him into dating her, and now I have him.

Walking out into the bright sunlight, I squinted over to where the boat was docked and the entire Cullen family was huddled around it as well as a group of very beautiful people. I had to force my jaw to keep closed when I saw all of them.

Each one of the Denali's looked like they should be on a magazine or walking down a runway. And I thought Rose was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen…

There was one woman with curly black hair that looked older than the others, but still extremely beautiful, she seemed to be around Esme's age and was talking animatedly with her and Carlisle.

A tall woman with dirty blonde hair and a dark haired, handsome man was talking and smiling with Rose and Emmett, while a brunette who was wrapped around a blonde man was talking to Alice and Jasper. The one that stood out to me was the blonde woman glaring in our direction.

I guess that's Tanya.

Light blond, wavy hair that came a few inches past her shoulders, she's tall, taller than Rose and curvy in all the right places. The shorts and bikini top she's wearing shows them off to the whole world.

The other thing that caught my attention was the man standing next to her, staring at us just as intently as she is. He was good looking by many standards; about as tall as Edward, dark tanned skin, dark brown wavy hair that fell to his jaw and you could easily see he was muscular under his white wife beater and jeans. But there was something about him that was familiar, and I squirmed under his intense gaze.

"It's alright, come on angel." Edward mumbled softly, pulling me closer to them.

"Oh good, you're here!" Esme yelled, waving us over excitedly and winked at me when she saw that I'm wearing the locket. I couldn't help but blush and duck my head a little.

When we got to them, the blonde woman whom I assumed was Tanya looked me up and down a few times before turning to Edward and batting her eyelashes.

"Who's this, Eddie?" The blonde woman asked sweetly. Too sweetly. And _Eddie_? What the hell was up with that?

"This is my girlfriend, Bella." Edward said firmly, giving the blonde a warning look that frightened even me.

_Edward called me his girlfriend! _I smiled widely, unable to control myself.

She shot me a look that clearly said she was trying to Jedi mind trick my ass into dying right where I stood.

"Well then, _Bella_," She sneered my name. "It's good to met you. I look forward to spending the next few days with you."

Well, this should be fun.

* * *

**Tanya and family has arrived! I'm evil… So, what did you think? Who do you think Tanya's mystery man is? I'll give you a hint; it's not Jacob or any of the wolf guys.**


	20. Chapter 20

**BPOV**

I went through the other Denali's one by one, each one was much more nicer and happier to see me than Tanya.

Sasha seemed very warm, much like Esme and I could see why they were friends. She hugged me and looked back and forth between me and Edward with a large smile on her perfect face.

Then I was passed from sister to sister. Kate, the brunette, hugged me and said she was very glad to meet me. She reminded me a little bit of Alice; wide eyed and energized, but a few notches calmer. She also seemed like the nicer of the three sisters. Irina was somewhere in the middle of Kate and Tanya personality wise. She smiled at me but didn't move to hug me like Kate had. I was a little grateful for that, I was still uncomfortable with the hugging.

Eleazar and Garret were definitely something else and I could see how they'd be compared to Emmett and Jasper. Garret came forward and hugged me, squeezing me until I gasped for air. Eleazar took my hand in his, smirking and bringing it up to his lips to kiss, his light blue eyes never leaving mine. I blushed horribly.

_He's like Jasper without all the shyness. Oh god… I don't know if I'd survive this. _

Edward coughed and pulled me away from him quickly, tucking me under his arm.

The last one to be introduced was the mystery man Tanya was clinging to. She straightened up and licked her lips, looking directly at Edward. I had to resist raking my nails across her face to wipe the look off it.

"Eddie, this is my _special friend_, Demitri." She purred, trailing her nails down Demitri's chest. I saw him look down sideways at Tanya in annoyance.

_Hmmm… Special friend. _

To _me_, that meant fuck buddy. She'd also probably brought him here to try to make Edward jealous.

And I still couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen him before.

"Hello." Was all Demitri said in a deep, slightly accented voice, nodding and smiling tightly toward me and Edward.

"What happened to your nose?" Irina asked Edward.

He sighed and glared at Emmett, who chuckled a little.

"Emmett broke it punching me." He explained dryly.

Irina didn't look surprised by this, just shook her head and rolled her eyes at Emmett.

"What? He deserved it!" Emmett defended, shrugging his wide shoulders.

"Come on everyone! Emmett and I are working on lunch!" Esme said, ushering us all toward their house. I was grateful; I didn't want to get too far into the reasons behind Edward's injury, especially in front of Tanya.

Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle helped Eleazar, Garret and Demitri with all the suitcases. Tanya seemed to have the most at six. They were only going to be here for three days, right? Why does she need that much stuff?

Rosalie came up next to me and slung her arm around me.

"Stay strong, you can take her. She's just some tramp." Rose whispered to me.

I laughed and wrapped my arm around her waist, following everyone else.

"I know, but I have a feeling this is going to be complex. I can already tell that she's not as stupid as she acts." I said.

Rose arched an eyebrow at me and nodded. "You're right, she only plays the dumb blonde to get what she wants, and then when it blows up in her face she can act all innocent and say it wasn't her fault."

When we got to the house, it dawned on me that I've never actually been in Esme and Carlisle's home. I wondered what a house that Esme lives in would look like. Probably very tastefully and well decorated.

I was right.

We walked in and I wasn't surprised to see the house done in warm colors, nice comfy looking furniture. A red leather couch and matching lazy boy chairs were in the living room, sitting on dark stained hard wood floors. The large picture window from floor to ceiling in the front of the house let plenty of light in and made to room look bigger than it probably is.

"Alright, who's staying where?" Esme asked. "Sasha, you'll of course stay with Carlisle and I, correct?"

"Well of course! The problem will be sorting out the children." Sasha answered, looking around at her daughters and their significant others.

"Oh! Well I'd be more than happy to stay with Eddie! What about you Demitri?" Tanya squealed, all too happy to move in on Edward.

The fuck you will…

"Tanya, I don't know if you'd be too comfortable staying with me and Edward. We're still in the… honeymoon faze, I guess you could call it. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear us." I giggled, acting flaky.

Her face slipped only for a second as she glared at me, but quickly went back to her innocent expression. Rose and Alice were trying to hide their laughter behind me and Emmett was watching us like a tennis match.

"What do you mean? Surely nothing you and Eddie could do would be something I couldn't hear." She said innocently, a slight smirk to her face.

I had to resist snorting in her face.

"Bella and I are very _active_." Edward said, catching on to what I was doing.

Tanya's face scrunched up and gave me the evil eye and huffed, but didn't say anything else.

The room was silent for a few seconds, everyone staring at us. I had forgotten that Edward's parents were in the room and blushed. I'd basically just said that Edward and I had lots of sex. Loud sex.

_Kill me now…_

"I wanna stay with Emmett and Rose!" Garret called out finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Perfect! Irina, Eleazar who do you want to stay with?" Sasha asked.

Great… now Alice and I were giving each other looks, neither one of us wanting Tanya. It was like dodge ball; neither of us wanted the kid that sucked at sports to be on our team.

Irina looked back and forth between the four of us, her eyes darting from Edward, me, Alice, and Jasper. I already knew though. Eleazar and Jasper were good friends and I'm sure that Irina liked Alice. They probably always stayed with Alice and Jasper and I don't think they're about to change that. Unless they were going to show me mercy and save me from their she-devil whore of a sister.

"Alice and Jasper." Irina said tentatively, glancing at me from the corner of her eye sympathetically. I'd said two words to her and she was already feeling sorry for me.

Edward's grip around my waist tightened and I looked up at him to see that he wasn't too happy about the living arrangements either.

"Oh yay! We get to stay with Eddie after all!" Tanya squealed and clapped like she just won the fucking lottery.

I think she just blew out my ear drum.

Edward cringed away from her and pulled me back with him, forcing me to take a step back. He really is afraid of her… I can see why; she's psycho.

And this _'Eddie' _business was getting on my nerves…

"His name is _Edward_." I said as sweetly as possible.

She froze in her ridiculous clapping and locked eyes with me.

"Maybe to you, but he let's me call him Eddie." She gloated, like it was some special privilege.

"I hate it." Edward said from next to me.

Tanya's smirk slipped and she looked genuinely confused and hurt.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I hate it when you call me that. I've told you numerous times that I hate it, but you don't listen, so I just gave up and ignored it." He clarified.

Tanya's mouth opened and closed like a gold fish, actually seeming to be stunned by Edwards' omission.

Was she that dense?

"I always thought you liked it…" She whined.

Edward sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Son, let me check your nose." Carlisle said suddenly, bringing us out of that awkward conversation.

I startled and my eyes snapped up to Edward. His nose was still taped up but it looked like the swelling had gone down. I wonder if it was hurting him any, but he had pain medication he was taking and hadn't mentioned anything about it. My hand went up to my own bandage, knowing it would have to be replaced again as well.

Carlisle noticed my movements and smiled kindly at me. "As soon as I'm finished with Edward here, I'll take a look at you."

I nodded and pushed Edward off to Carlisle. He was reluctant to leave me here by myself to face everyone, but he needed his nose looked at.

"Emmett, will you help me in the kitchen?" Esme asked.

"Sure mom." He smiled and followed her into the cherry wood and stainless steel kitchen.

"The rest of you make yourselves comfortable, lunch should be done in about fifteen minutes." She called out.

We all settled in the living room; mercifully Alice sat next to me. I thought I'd just sit here and listen while everyone else caught up, but the first thing said was directed to me.

"So Bella, how did you and Edward meet?" Kate asked.

Ummm… How do you tell someone that Edward bought me off the black market?

I froze. Were we supposed to come up with some kind of cover story? I didn't want to say something and then have Edward tell them something completely different.

"Well…"

"Bella is my cousin." Jasper blurted out.

_Say what now?_

"Your cousin?" Kate repeated.

"Yes, distant cousin though. Didn't even know her very well until her parents had an accident a couple months ago. Didn't have anyone else to turn to. You know that there's not a lot of people in my family; I was the closest one that she had. I was of course more than happy to get to know my little cousin better and in the process she and Edward hit it off." Jasper lied smoothly, every word rolling off his tongue in a way that made even me believe him. And I knew the truth.

"Awww… That's so sad, yet so sweet at the same time. I'm sorry about your parents, but it's so nice that you and Edward found each other out of it." Sasha said sympathetically. She gave off a very motherly vibe, a lot like Esme.

Edward walked back into the room then, nose freshly bandaged.

"Hey Edward, we were just talking about how you and Bella met." Kate said to him.

His face dropped and you could see the blood drain out. Shit…

"I think it's so cute that you fell in love with Jasper's cousin!" Sasha gushed.

"That I…" Edward started. I gave him a pointed look to play along and understanding crossed his face.

"Oh yeah! Well, I just couldn't help myself. I saw her and knew she was special." He said, the last part more to me than anyone else.

I blushed and looked down at my hands. All the girls except Tanya awed over Edwards' words.

He walked over to me and bent down, placing a kiss on my lips. "Carlisle's ready for you. He's in the bathroom off the hallway."

"Okay, I'll be right back." I said and stood up. Walking past the kitchen, I saw Esme and Emmett putting together some food, Emmett working skillfully over the stove. I continued on through the hallway until I came to a door that was wide open that I was hoping was the bathroom.

Peeking inside, I saw Carlisle digging through his medical bag. He looked up and smiled at me, reminding me of Edward.

"Come on in Bella." He waved me inside.

I stepped inside the room and stood a few feet away from him, quietly watching as he gathered supplies from his bag.

"Here, will you sit on the counter? You might be more comfortable sitting than standing."

I did as he suggested and hopped up on the counter, waiting patently. I was a little nervous; I'd never been alone with Carlisle and while from the few times I'd been around him, he seemed very kind, I still couldn't help being apprehensive around him.

He turned toward me and carefully peeled away the bandage from my neck.

"I see that you accepted Edward's gift to you." He chuckled, looking at my locket from the corner of his eye. I reached up almost instinctively and touched the locket.

"Yes, it really is beautiful. Edward explained the significance of it to me… I nearly cried." I laughed awkwardly.

"I want to thank you." He said suddenly.

I frowned… What did he have to thank me for?

Carlisle saw the confused look on my face and went on.

"Edward… he's different… w_armer._" He said softly.

"Oh, I don't think I have anything to do with that." I shook my head.

"Yes you do, Bella. Trust me. Before you, Edward didn't have that light in his eyes that he has now, he didn't laugh and smile as much. It was almost as if he was just going through the motions. He went to work, he went to dinner, he came back home and went to bed. Occasionally Emmett and the others would drag him out to a club or party. You changed him… for the better. And I just wanted to thank you for that, as does Esme." He said as he worked, prodding my wound gently.

"I hadn't thought about it. I just always assumed that he'd always been the way he is." I said.

He shook his head. "No, he hasn't always been like this. He loves you very much, Bella and I can see why." He winked at me, once again reminding me of Edward.

"I love him very much too. I- I honestly don't know where I'd be without him." I replied quietly. I shuddered to think of where I _could _be if it hadn't of been for Edward.

Carlisle noticed and sighed.

"That first night, when he… found you, he and Emmett called me at three o'clock in the morning, out of a dead sleep and told me to come over ASAP. So I get up and go over, wondering what the hell those two boys are going on about. But when I get there, I see Edward leaning over this little form in the middle of his bed, a look of fear and worry plastered across his face. When I get closer, I see that it's you. You looked so tiny and pale, nearly naked too, and Edward begs me to help you, to make sure you're okay. You had bruises all over your arms and had been shot up with so many drugs, but the moment I said you would be alright, it was like the entire weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. It was all he wanted to hear; that you'd be alright. I think he loved you, or at the very least cared about you quite a lot, even then."

I listened to him in awe. Edward never told me about this part. My eyes were threatening to well up with tears but I held them back.

"I… I didn't know that." I whispered.

"Never doubt that he loves you Bella. And I'm extremely proud to have you as apart of this family Bella." He said to me.

"Thank you." I whispered again.

We sat in comfortable silence after that; Carlisle examining my neck with great care. He bandaged me back up and let me get down.

"You're healing nicely; the stitches I put in are dissolvable so they'll fade away on their own in about another week. And please stop getting the bandages wet." He stressed with a smile on his face, I knew he wasn't mad about it.

"Sorry. I forget and take a shower, then when I get out I remember that I wasn't supposed to get it wet." I apologized.

"Just take baths for another week and a shower if you really need it and you should be fine. But if it does get wet again, just have Edward redo it for you, he knows how." He instructed.

"Lunch is ready!" Esme called.

"We better get out there. Esme won't be happy if we miss lunch." Carlisle smirked and motioned for me to go out first.

We walked out together but I frowned when I saw Tanya sitting next to Edward, leaning toward him and talking a mile a minute at the long dining room table. I had to resist the urge to go up to her and rip her extensions out. Though I was extremely happy that he was trying to lean away from her, nearly falling off the other side of his chair.

I practically stomped over and stood behind Edward, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Can't we get away from her after lunch?" I asked.

He chuckled and nodded his head. "Of course angel." He said out loud, sounding relieved.

I kissed his neck, right below his ear and felt him shudder in my arms, and sat down in the chair to his right.

The food laid out across the table look delicious; some kind of cheesy lasagna, stuffed mushrooms and mini chicken Paninis; all of which I'm sure was made from scratch.

This is _lunch_? Wow… What's going to be for dinner?

"This looks awesome, Esme!" Garrett moaned excitedly.

Esme smiled and thanked him, sitting down between Carlisle and Sasha. All of us dung in, moaning and groaning around mouthfuls of food to Esme and Emmett. This was one of the best home cooked meals I've ever had. Hell, I think this is the best home cooked meal I've had. Renee's version of a home cooked meal was grilling a burger and some French fries. And it usually wasn't very good.

As I took a bite of lasagna, I thought about Renee and Charlie. It's only been a few days since I last called them, but it seemed like weeks. They had to still be looking for Riley and I felt bad that they still had hope in finding him. But I didn't know how to break the news to them.

_Oh hi mom, I'm just calling to tell you that my boyfriends' brother-in-law killed Riley because he was trying to cut my throat in their kitchen. So you can stop looking for him. _

I'd have to think about this for a while.

Everyone was talking happily, it was almost like a family reunion. I felt a little out of place, not knowing about half the things they were talking about.

Edward's hand rested on my thigh, his thumb rubbing smoothly against my dress. I looked over at him to see him smiling me.

"Awww… Aren't you two so cute together." Garrett awed across the table in a baby voice.

"Shut up." Kate muttered to him.

"What? I'm just saying they're cute together. I've never seen Edward all lovey-dovey toward a girl. Whenever I've seen him with a girl, it's just been for a quickie." Garret said.

I took a deep breath at his words and had to remind myself that I wasn't one of those girls to him.

"Watch your mouth!" Emmett growled at him.

"Em, its fine." I said to him. "I get that Edward has had other women before me, but I also know that every single one of them meant absolutely nothing to him."

Tanya's fork clanked against her plate, echoing across the quiet room.

_Ohhhh… Was that last comment a little too harsh? _

"Alice, Rosie, what do you want to do today?" Tanya asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

I saw Rose cringe a little when Tanya called her 'Rosie'.

"Oh, well… Nothing I suppose. Just hang around." Alice answered slowly.

"Well, we should think of something fun to do while we're here." She said.

After that, everyone fell into comfortable conversations. Edward and I managed to make our own little bubble at the table.

"I'm sorry about Tanya, I promise we'll get away from her as soon as possible." Edward whispered apologetically to me.

"It's fine. I'm actually enjoying being around everyone else." I said quietly.

He leaned over and placed a kiss on my temple. "I love you." He whispered, his lips brushing against my ear.

"I love you too." I said back, turning to him and grazing my lips across his.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Tanya and Demitri were getting set up in the guest room upstairs, unpacking their suitcases.

_Good thing I decided to move into Edward's room and had already packed all my stuff. I didn't want Tanya touching my things. _

Edward and I were huddled up together on the couch, enjoying our last few minutes alone for the next few days. We were watching the newest episode of House while I was sitting on his lap, resting my head against his shoulder as one of his hands traveled up and down my thigh.

This gave me time to think more about my train of thought during dinner; what did they do with Riley's body?

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't really care about Riley per say, but after Jasper's comment about _having taken care of it, _my curiosity was killing me.

I just couldn't stand not knowing…

"Edward… What did you do with Riley's body?" I asked out of the blue.

He tensed under me and wouldn't away from the TV.

"I'm not telling you." He said softly, but there was a clear warning in his voice to lay off it.

"Edward, what did you do with his body?" I asked again, harsher this time.

"I'm not telling you." He repeated.

"Why won't you tell me?" I wanted to know.

"Because I don't want you knowing any of the details. It was taken care of, okay? That should be enough." He answered heatedly.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

"Fine." I said curtly and stomped off into the kitchen.

Leaning up against the counter, I took several deep breaths but it didn't help me calm down much.

Looking around me, I tried to find something I could do to take my mind off things. My eyes stopped on a sponge on the sink and walked over to pick it up.

Cleaning…

Back home, I'd always clean when I was upset or frustrated about something.

So I began scrubbing; staring with the sink. I scrubbed until the stainless steel was shinning brightly and could see my reflection in it. Then moving onto the counter, cleaning every smudge and speck of dirt.

I was about to move onto the fridge but, froze when I felt someone come up behind me that wasn't Edward. I knew it wasn't Edward, I can feel when it's him, I can smell him.

"Do you need any help?" Demitri's voice asked me.

I bit my lip and turned around to face him. He was leaning against the counter only about a foot away from me, looking at me with an odd glint in his eyes.

"Umm… No. I've got it covered. Thanks though." I said curtly.

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be any trouble." He insisted, stepping closer to me.

"Tanya's looking for you, Demitri." The voice of another man sounded across the room.

Eleazar.

Demitri took another longing glance at me before walking out, brushing past Eleazar as he went.

"Thank you." I said to him.

"No problem. The guy may come off as kinda creepy, but I'm pretty sure he's harmless." He smiled and winked at me as he walked toward me.

My breath hitched in my throat. He really is good looking. Messy black hair… sparkling hazel eyes… _If I didn't love Edward so much…_

"So, do you need any help? Or were you telling him the truth?" He asked.

My mouth opened and closed, making me look like an idiot.

"Um… I don't think that you could help with anything." I said and went back to my scrubbing.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting on one of the stools.

I looked at him through my eyelashes, not pausing in my cleaning as I appraised him. I couldn't really tell him about the conversation Edward and I just had. Maybe I could give him the censored version.

"Edward and I had a disagreement about something. There's something that he did but he won't tell me about it and I want to know." I said.

Eleazar steepled his fingers against his chin and narrowed his eyes.

"Is it something important?" He asked.

"Not too much, it's just something to do with me and I'm curious." I said.

"Well, I've only known Edward for a few years, but I know that if he doesn't want to tell you something, there's not much you can do to change his mind. But on the other hand, if it has something to do with you, he should tell you if you want to know bad enough." Eleazar reasoned.

I was about to respond to him when I caught sight of Edward leaning in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Thank you Eleazar." Edward said, clearly dismissing him.

Eleazar slowly got off the chair and walked out, leaving Edward and I alone.

I put the sponge down and crossed my arms, tilting my chin up, refusing to back down from him.

He sighed and pushed himself off the doorway, walking over to me. When he made to come up to me and wrap me in his arms, I held my hand up, causing him to freeze.

"Bella, you've got to understand that I can't tell you some things for your safety." He started.

"What about this concerns my safety? I just want to know what you did with it." I practically whispered. I didn't know who might be listening.

"If there's an investigation, I want you to be able to say that you have no idea what happened to it." He whispered back harshly.

I was taken aback by that and didn't know what to say to that for a second. _If there was an investigation_? Does he honestly think there was some way this could come back on him?

"Why do you want to know so bad anyway?" He asked after I remained speechless for a minute.

"Jasper… When I asked him about it, he said something about having 'taken care of it'. I just wanted to know what he meant." I said.

"He shouldn't have said anything at all. I told him and Emmett to not say anything to you, Alice and Rose." Edward cursed and went to pinch his nose, but stopped short when he remembered it was broke.

_It was kind of adorable… _But I wasn't going to give into him so quickly.

"Fine. Whatever, let's just deal with Tanya while she's here." I huffed. I know I'm acting childish, but damn it, I hate it when he does stuff like this.

"Bella, I'm sorry I can't tell you, but-" He started, but was interrupted by a shrill beeping. He rolled his eyes and dug through his jeans pocket, pulling out a ringing cell phone. "Hold on, it's work, I've got to take it."

He answered it and walked off into another room. I could hear him mumbling something in Portuguese but didn't bother trying to translate it in my mind.

I walked out of the kitchen and headed for the bedroom, wanting to change into my swim suit because Rose said something about them going swimming later. I needed some girl time to get my mind off things.

Digging through the clothes laid out on the bed, I found a blue one I'd bought and started to shimmy out of my top when there was a knock on the door. Edward stuck his head giving me an apologetic expression.

"I have to go into work. There's a problem with one of the clients over a deal. Something about not wanting to close because of one of the stipulations in his contract or some ridiculous thing like that." He explained. It felt wrong, like I was some bitchy, controlling wife that he was telling every single little detail to because he had to have a good reason to go into work.

"Edward, it's fine. Go into work, I'll be fine here. Rose, Alice and I were going to go for a swim anyway." I said.

He came in all the way and walked up to me, a questioning look on his face. I nodded and let him hug me, but denied the kiss he tried to plant on my lips.

"I'll be back in an hour or two." He said softly before walking out the door. I sat down on the bed with my head in my hands.

What the hell was I doing?

I'm not Edward's wife. I can't demand he tell me things.

_But it is about your step-brother, so you have a right to know. _That little annoying voice in the back of my mind said.

Edward's just being his normal, overprotective self. I can't hate him for wanting to keep me safe, but it just kills me that he keeps these secrets from me without my input on things. He doesn't even ask if I want to know or not, he just assumes.

I sat there for a while before finally getting fed up with thinking about it and changed quickly into my swimsuit. I walked into the bathroom to check my appearance and brush out my hair when I noticed the bandage covering my neck and groaned loudly in frustration.

_I can't get it wet. _

Which means I can't go swimming.

_Maybe I can still swim if I don't go into water deeper than my waist. _

I made sure my bathing suit was in all the right places and I looked acceptable and went out the bathroom.

I froze and the color drained out of my face when I saw Demitri leaning against the closed door, a smirk across his lips as he looked me up and down.

"What are you doing in here? Get out!" I yelled, trying to keep from panicking.

"I don't think so." He muttered, narrowing his eyes.

At that, I started backing up slowly to the bathroom, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get past him through the door, so locking myself away from him was second best.

His face morphed from smug and good looking to almost feral as he lunged forward. I turned and ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, but he put his shoulder into it so it flung back open before it even closed.

Backing up further into the room, I quickly glanced around for any kind of weapon I could against him, but unless I was going to fight him off with a hairbrush, there wasn't anything I could use. My back hit the wall and I squeaked.

"Get away from me! I'll scream the house down!" I threatened.

Demitri just laughed and continued to stalk toward me.

"There is no one here. I checked. Tanya went to see her sisters, I just saw Edward leave on a boat ten minutes ago and everyone else is busy with their own things. It's just you… and me." He said menacingly.

Shit… He was right. And even if _Tanya _was here, would she really help me? I think not. She might come running so she could stand there and watch whatever he does to me, but not to help me.

"Why?" I wanted to know.

"I'm a little hurt that you don't remember me." He said, avoiding my question.

I knew that I'd seen him before! But I still couldn't pin-point from where.

"I-I can't remember." I whispered.

He came toward me, putting his hands out against the wall on either sides of my shoulders, trapping me, and leaned forward until his nose almost touched mine.

"Such a pretty little mouth… The things I could do to it." He murmured, his breath fanning across my face.

That's when it clicked.

Flashes of being back in that room right after Edward bought me came flying back into my mind. A man bent over me as I lay on the couch, scared and drugged out of my mind, whispering things to me.

'_I wonder if he would let me have a little bit of fun with you after he breaks you in… I bet you could do wonders with that pretty little mouth of yours.'_

It was Demitri.

I had to fight not to vomit at the memories.

"Ahhh… I see you remember me now." He smirked and chuckled reaching up to brush his fingers over my cheek. "I'm so glad."

_Run Bella, you've got to run. _

I ducked under his arm and bolted, surprising him enough to get a head start. I had reached the door, my fingers circling the knob when I felt Demitri's weight slam into my back, crushing me painfully against the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He hissed.

I started screaming as loud as I could, but he slid his hand between my face and the door to cover my mouth, effectively cutting off my screams.

"Be quite. We wouldn't want anyone to interrupt our fun." Demitri snarled as he started dragging over to the bed.

* * *

**Don't hurt me! If you do, you'll never find out what happens next! **

**Edward and Bella just seem to keep having these little spats don't they? I think they need a time-out in separate corners… Edward's in my corner though, I'll punish him in my own way. **

**Whatcha think about these latest developments? Hmm…? Tell me in a very strongly worded review, please. **

**You know you wanna push that little button down there. **


	21. Chapter 21

********WARNING****** There's some not too nice stuff in the beginning of this chapter. Proceed with caution. It get's a little heavy. If you don't want to read the bad stuff, I've marked where I believe it's safe for you to start reading without missing out on anything important.**

* * *

**BPOV**

"And just where do you think you're going?" He hissed.

I started screaming as loud as I could, but he slid his hand between my face and the door to cover my mouth, effectively cutting off my screams.

"Be quite. We wouldn't want anyone to interrupt our fun." Demitri snarled as he started dragging over to the bed.

I struggled, kicking and trying to scream around his hand, but it wasn't fazing him. He threw me on the bed and I bounced on it for a second before his weight was on me, crushing me into the mattress. He sat up on me, pinning my legs and hips to the bed.

"So pretty…" He hummed. "Cullen's wasting you. The things I could do with you…"

"Get off of me!" I yelled. Demitri grasped both of my wrists in one of his hands and pulled them roughly above my head.

"Shut your fucking mouth or I'll make this a whole lot worse than it has to be you little bitch." He growled, his other hand ripping at my bathing suit top. I was struggling against him, but it only served to rub myself on him which urged him on. Demitri got my top off, making me wince and cry out when he ripped it off from around my neck.

He sat back on his heels, still straddling my stomach and held me down while he stared at my naked chest. I felt tears leak out of my eyes and run down my temples.

_Edward, help me, please. _

Demitri was licking his lips and grinning as he looked down at me. His hand slithered over the skin of my stomach, making me shudder violently in disgust, and stopped at my breasts, squeezing my left one harshly.

I whimpered and shut my eyes tightly, trying to block everything out, but he must have noticed and didn't like it, because his hand left my breast and swung back across my face, snapping my head to the side, the sound cracking through the room. The stinging pain registered second and I cried out.

"Pay attention." He growled.

"Fuck you!" I spat out.

"Don't worry baby, I plan on making that happen." He laughed darkly.

_Oh God… I can't let him rape me… If he does, Edward won't want me anymore. I'll be dirty and Edward will send me away. _

I cried harder and started bucking my hips, trying to throw him off balance enough for me to get out from under him and run, but he was too heavy. His free hand returned to my breasts, squeezing and pinching painfully.

"Fucking awesome tits." He mumbled to himself.

I squirmed around and tried to pull my wrists out of his hand, but his grip was tight and painful, not giving me anyway to get out of it.

His lips and teeth were on my skin, biting up and down my neck, working down my chest until he got to my breasts. He'd grunt out the word _mine _between every bite.

"Get off me!" I cried.

He didn't say anything, just snickered before biting down painfully onto my breast, making me cry out and struggle against him. Tears were streaming down my face, sobbing as he continually bit into my breasts hard enough that he was drawing blood.

Demitri paused in his biting and lifted himself off me and slid down my legs, still keeping a hold of my wrists. Bile rised in my throat when I felt his hot, sweaty fingers undoing the ties at my hips to the bottom of my suit. In a last desperate attempt, I raised my knee up and slammed it into his stomach. He groaned and doubled over on top of me, his grip on my wrists loosening.

It was enough.

I tore my hands out of his grasp and scrambled out from under him and off the bed, falling off it to the floor in my haste but I didn't care. I just crawled as fast as I could across the room.

_Why was the bedroom so fucking big? The door seemed like it was a mile away. _

"You fucking bitch!" He yelled behind me and jumped off the bed, grabbing for me. His fingers twisted around my ankle and yanked me back.

I let out a scream and kicked my legs at him, but he already had me under him again so it was no use.

"That wasn't very nice." He growled and started tearing my bottoms off again.

He didn't get very far.

"Get the fuck off her you bastard!" Rose's voice screeched.

Demitri's head snapped up toward her, then in a blur of movement, something swung above me, making contact with his head and he tumbled off me.

I crawled away from them and curled up in a ball against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them tightly. My teary eyes focused on Rose, swinging a baseball bat like she was Babe Ruth at Demitri's head.

Rose swung at him over and over, even when he was laying limp on the floor, she kept it up.

All I could do was sob and rock back and forth while I watched her beat Demitri's face in. She started slowing down her swings until she stopped all together and dropped the bat on the floor with _thud_.

She turned to me and I watched as the anger slipped off her face and was replaced with sadness and worry.

"Oh Bella… sweetie." Rose whispered and started slowly walking to me.

I jumped when she touched me but calmed when she smoothed my hair back and whispered to me. "Shhh… you're alright sweetie, he won't hurt you anymore. It's okay. That bastard's not going to touch you ever again."

"W-what are y-you doing h-here?" I cried.

"Edward came by before he left and said that you were getting ready to come swimming with us. I got worried when a half hour passed and there was still no sign of you." She explained gently.

I broke out into sobs at her words.

_Edward had once again saved me and he didn't even know it. _

She moved to get up and I reached out to cling to her beginning her not to leave me alone.

"I'm just going to get you a blanket to cover up with." She whispered to me.

I forgot that I was basically naked. The only thing I had on were my swim bottoms and I was only covering my breasts with my legs. So I let her get up and watched closely as she pulled the throw blanket off the small leather couch from the other side of the room and came back over to me, gently draping it around me.

"Let me call Edward, sweetie. He'll want to know." She said, already digging through her pocket.

I didn't protest, just clung tightly to the blanket, curling in on myself as a feeling of disgust and dirt crept over me.

**EPOV**

I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair, nearly tearing it out as I glared at my assistant, Heidi.

She'd just walked into my office and handed me another stack of paperwork to look over.

"Don't give me that look, it's not my fault this client can't understand his own contract." Heidi chastised me.

Heidi was a nice girl; pretty, with medium length blond hair ending just past her shoulders and big hazel eyes, she was tall, especially when she wore heels. She's one of the only assistants that I hired that didn't try to get me to fuck them across my desk. She was very professional and I greatly appreciated that, but she was also never afraid to put me in my place when I was being an asshole.

I sighed and apologized. "You're right. Sorry, I'm just frustrated with all this."

She shook her blond head sympathetically and walked out of my office. I huffed and picked my pen back up, sorting through the mountain of paper. I'd only gotten through about seven pages when my phone rang loudly, making me jump.

Rose.

I was half thankful for the distraction and half annoyed that I was being interrupted, but flipped my phone open anyway.

"What is it Rose?" I asked quickly.

I didn't have time to take calls right now.

"Edward, you need to come home now." She answered.

"Rose, I can't come home right now. I've got paperwork coming out of my as-"

"Asshole, get home now! It's Bella." She growled at me.

I froze in what I was writing. "What about Bella?" I asked.

Rose hesitated.

"Damn it Rose, tell me!" I yelled.

"Edward… When I tell you this, don't blow up, stay calm, please?" She said softly through the phone.

She was starting to seriously worry me; Rose never spoke softly about anything.

I took a calming breath. "Alright, go on."

"Bella was… attacked by Demitri." She whispered painfully.

All the blood drained from my face at her words.

"Attacked? As in…" I was trying to process what she was telling me.

"He tried to rape her Edward!" She yelled bluntly into the phone.

I heard something in the background squeak and Rose whispering. Then it hit me hard. _That son of a bitch…_ All I could see was red and my fists clenched together. I heard the phone crack in my hand and had to remind myself to loosen my grip or else I'd break it.

"What!" I shouted.

"Edward, calm down, she's alive. A little shaken up and bruised, but other than that I think she's going to be okay. But she's scared and I don't want to leave her, but I need to get Carlisle or somebody." She was rambling into the phone.

"Stay there with her! I'll be there in fifteen minutes." I demanded.

"Edward… When you come in, you need to stay calm. Don't scare her more than she already is. She's like a frightened little mouse. Can't I blame her though." Rose mumbled. I could tell she was trying not to let Bella hear her.

"I will. Just stay there with her and call Carlisle." I said and hung up. I grabbed what I needed, the paperwork completely forgotten and practically ran out of my office.

I passed Heidi's desk on the way and saw she was giving me a strange look.

"I've got to go. There's an emergency." I called to her, pushing the damn elevator button.

"What about the client?" Heidi asked.

"Tell him to go fuck himself!" I yelled, stepping into the elevator and frantically pushing the button for the first floor.

While waiting impatiently for the elevator to get to the bottom floor, I texted my driver, Michael to pull the car around front and be ready now. As soon as the doors opened I was running out the door and down the flight of steps to the car.

Slamming the door shut, I shouted. "Drive back to the docks! And fast, there's an emergency with my family."

He didn't have to be told twice. We made it to the docks in record time, weaving in and out of traffic like a manic. I didn't care though. I'll make sure to give him a nice bonus in his next paycheck.

I ran down the docks to my boat, quickly untying it and making sure it was ready to drive. Putting it in high gear, I got to the island in nearly half the time it normally took.

The entire ride there, I couldn't keep the thoughts out of my head.

What kind of condition would she be in? Would she be afraid of me? Would she hate me for leaving her alone?

Flashes of a bruised and blooded Bella ran through my brain and I clenched my eyes shut trying to get them out. It didn't work.

Running through the house, I reached my bedroom and saw the door was open. I could hear people talking inside. I slowed, remembering Rose's words of staying somewhat calm for Bella's sake and stepped into the room.

My heart broke at what I saw.

Bella was curled up in a corner, wrapped in a small blanket with Rose kneeling down beside her, running her finger's through Bella's tangled hair and whispering something to her. Carlisle was here, pacing back and forth helplessly a few feet away, a concerned look on his face as he studied Bella.

He spotted me first and came up to me.

"Is she…" I whispered, afraid of his answer.

"She won't let me near her." He said heavily. "Every time I try to get close enough to examine her, she starts crying and yelling. Rose has to calm her down every single time."

I didn't take my eyes off Bella's balled up form, barely listening to Carlisle. I took a tentative step toward her and Rose noticed. She leaned down to Bella and whispered something to her, making Bella look up at me with wide teary eyes.

"Angel…" I murmured painfully.

I kept stepping closer to her, slowly, inch by inch. She just kept staring at me, watching my every move. She looked like a scared, cornered little rabbit staring at a wolf.

"Edward…" She said and reached a quivering hand out to me. In a second I was kneeling beside her and had her wrapped in my arms. She jumped at first, but then melted into my chest, her wet cheeks pressing against my shirt.

"Edward… Edward… Edward." She kept repeating over and over as she held tightly to me and cried.

It took everything I had in me not to cry with her. I noticed she was naked underneath the blanket and my rage came back even stronger, but I kept myself in check for Bella. It wouldn't do any good for me scare her.

So I tried to get my mind off it.

"Bella, angel… Why won't you let Carlisle make sure you're okay?" I asked softly.

"I-I don't want a-anyone to s-see me like this E-Edward." She shuddered out between sobs.

"Sweetie, Carlisle is a doctor, he's seen pretty much everything. And he cares about you, he just wants to make sure you'll be alright. Please let him." I tried to plead with her.

After a couple minutes and her sobbing had stopped, Bella nodded her head.

"Okay, that's good. Can I move you up to the bed? Would you be more comfortable there than the floor?" I asked gently.

She shook her head against my chest and whispered to me in a tiny voice. "I don't wanna get back on the bed."

I frowned for a moment, wondering why she wouldn't want to be on the big, comfy bed. My eyes widened in realization.

_That bastard tried to rape her in her own bed? In our bed? _

I pushed that out of my head for the moment, my concern being Bella, and my eyes darted around the room for someplace she could sit other than the hard floor.

"What about the couch?" I asked.

She looked toward it and nodded her consent. I crouched beside her and slowly slid my arms under her, lifting her up and to my chest. She winced but didn't make a sound. Carlisle made sure to keep a few feet away from us as I carried her across the room. Setting her on the couch long ways, I sat down behind her, resting my back against the arm of the couch and maneuvering her between my legs and leaning her against my chest.

"Is this good, angel?" I murmured in her ear.

"Yes. Thank you." She whispered back and snuggled further back into me.

I looked up at Carlisle and saw he was itching to come closer to make sure no damage had been done.

"Can Carlisle look at you now?" I asked softly. She just nodded her head and looked down at her lap. Nodding to Carlisle, I watched as he walked over to us carefully, picking up his medical bag along the way. Kneeling down beside her he looked at her with a fatherly expression of concern.

"Bella, did he manage to uhh… to… rape you." Carlisle asked her reluctantly.

She shook her head almost violently and I breathed a sigh of relief that Rose had gotten there just in time.

"Good, good, that's very good." He assured her. "Can you tell me what he did?"

Bella lowered her head so far that her chin was digging into her chest. Her hair fell forward to make a dark curtain around her.

"H-he… b-bit me…" She whispered so low I could barely hear her.

My jaw clenched and I buried my face in the back of her hair to keep from yelling.

_She still smells like that ridiculous girly strawberry shampoo Heidi bought for her. _

"Where?" Carlisle continued his questions.

"Everywhere." Bella mumbled and her arms came up to cross over her chest and hugged herself under the blanket.

Carlisle reached out to slowly remove the blanket covering her but she started to panic again.

"No, no, no, no…." Bella cried and backed into me.

"Bella, it's okay. He just want's to look, I'm right here." I tried to sooth her, but it didn't work.

"No! Don't look at me! I'm disgusting!" She cried, clutching the blanket tighter to her.

Her words broke my heart and I buried my face in her shoulder, willing myself not to cry. I needed to be strong for her. At least for now.

An idea struck me that might make things easier for Bella.

"Angel… What if I looked? Just me." I asked.

She bit her lip and still shook her head. "I look disgusting Edward."

"Shhh… You could never be disgusting to me. I love you." I insisted.

Bella turned her head to look at me and I could see the her cheek was red and starting to swell.

"Rose, can you go get me some ice?" I asked, not taking my eyes from Bella's face. I heard her make a noise of agreement and her shoes padded across the floor.

"Carlisle, can I please look at her on my own? I know the basics of what to do. If it's something bad and I need your help, I'll call." I asked Carlisle.

He shot a worried look to Bella, but nodded.

"Yes, but I'm staying here in the living room, just in case. I'll leave my bag here for you." He stood up and walked out the room, looking sadly at Bella. Rose walked back in with a bag of ice and handed it to me.

Once the room was cleared, I took a moment to just sit and hold Bella, gently rocking her back and forth. Then slid out from around Bella and knelt on the floor before her. Reaching up, I tenderly pressed the ice to her cheek, watching as she winced, but eventually leaned into it, her eyes fluttering shut.

"That feels nice." She whispered.

I smiled a little at her relief and thought about how I was going to approach this. For her and myself. I knew whatever damage was under this blanket would make me angry, furious, but I'd have to keep calm.

"Can I…?" I asked, nodding toward the blanket.

Bella nodded and tilted her head up to the ceiling. Coaxing the blanket out of her hands, I slowly lowered it around her body.

About fifteen to twenty bright red bite marks marred her neck, upper chest and breasts. I could see blood dripping out of a few of them. Her arms were bruised in patches from the tops to her wrists. Her right breast was the worse, a deep, bloody bite encircling her nipple. I could very easily tell it was from Demitri putting his mouth around it and biting down cruelly.

I took a deep breath, letting it go so harshly that my entire body shook from it. My fists wrapped around the blanket, twisting it, so I wouldn't hit something.

"Oh angel…" I murmured, my voice disguising my inner feelings.

"See? I'm disgusting Edward!" She cried and tried to pull the blanket from my hands, but I wasn't letting go.

"You are not disgusting! That bastard is disgusting for doing this to you!" I shouted, unable to help it. I hated that she thought she was dirty or disgusting because of this. It was a mistake though, I watched as her eyes widened and she leaned away from me, pressing into the couch.

The door swung open, revealing Rosalie glaring at me. I quickly tugged the blanket back up around Bella.

"What do you think you're doing Edward? She's just been attacked and nearly raped and you're yelling at her?" She hissed at me.

_Shit. I must have yelled louder than I thought if she heard me all the way out in the living room. _

"It's okay Rose." Bella said. "Thank you, though."

She eyed me one last time before huffing and shut the door behind her as she walked out.

"I'm sorry Bella, so sorry. I just… No matter what, you're beautiful and I love you. You could never be disgusting to me." I apologized softly, gently reaching up to stroke her hair back.

"I'm sorry too. I just can't help it… It's this feeling, like a bunch of little bugs are crawling all over my skin. I can still feel his hands and his mouth on me. His voice in my head saying all these things. I just want to get rid of it all." Bella said, burying her bruised face in her hands.

My arms enveloped her in a hug and held her to me chest, nuzzling her head under my chin. I could feel her tears seeping through my shirt, but like I gave a shit.

Eventually, she pulled away from me and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm overreacting, aren't I? He didn't even rape me and I'm sobbing all over the place. I'm being so stupid." Bella mumbled.

My jaw clenched and I took her face in my hands, still mindful enough to be gentle. "Bella, you are in no way whatsoever overreacting. You are in shock and scared and thought that he _was _going to rape you. And if you want to cry for a while about, you have every right to do it."

Bella stared at me, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted.

"Thank you." Was all she whispered to me. I smiled at her and smoothed some of her tangled hair away from her face.

"Okay, now let me take care of you, angel." I murmured.

First thing first, I need to clean and disinfect the bites. I said this to Bella and she agreed with teary eyes.

"I'm going to go get some water and a clean cloth to clean these with." I said and rose up off my knees. I just went into the bathroom, not wanting to get too far away from her and soaked one of the washcloths in hot water. Bella was still in the same position when I walked back in, so I just kneed back in front of her again. Digging through Carlisle's medical bag, I found the disinfectant I needed and laid it on the couch next to her.

She lowered the blanket by herself and waited patently for me to start.

"This might sting a little." I warned. She nodded and looked at me with complete trust shinning in her eyes.

As gently as I could, I brushed the warm cloth over the bites along her neck, wiping the blood away. My jaw was clenched the entire time, trying not to let out the rage I was feeling. Bella would flinch away when I hit a tender spot and I'd murmur apologizes to her.

When I was all finished with washing, I pulled out the disinfectant and put some on the tips of my fingers, reaching up to lightly dab it against her bites, following the same path from her neck to her breasts.

Bella winced and blushed red when my fingertip traced the bite around her nipple.

"I'm sorry, does that one hurt the most?" I asked softly.

She nodded her head at me but was still blushing at me.

"What?" I pressed.

"It… It feels kinda… nice." She whispered.

My eyes widened and I couldn't help but smirk a little as I realized what she was saying.

"I mean, I still… remember… him. But it still feels nice with you." She continued.

"I'm glad. Honestly, I was afraid that you wouldn't want me touching you." I admitted, not stopping my gentle rubbing.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "I'm not afraid of you Edward! I'm not gonna lie, it's still uncomfortable and makes me squirm, but I'm not scared."

I smiled and went to lean forward to kiss her, but she pulled back a little and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled dejectedly.

"Hey, don't apologize to me about this. You're not comfortable with me kissing you yet, it's understandable and okay. I love you." I said, whispering the last three words.

"Love you too." She whispered back.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

After finishing addressing all of Bella's wounds, I helped her get dressed in cotton sleep shorts and one of my shirts, both of us agreeing the bigger and looser it was, the more comfortable it would be against her chest.

I about had a fit when I saw all the bruises covering her beautiful body, but controlled myself. I don't think I did a very good job though, because Bella frowned at me and tentatively ran her fingertips along my jaw in a soothing motion.

She settled down on the couch, refusing to go anywhere near the bed yet.

_I'll probably end up burning the damn thing. _

I made sure she was laying in plenty of pillows and blankets until she told me she was more than comfortable. I sat on the floor beside her, resting my head next to hers and continually brushed my fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep.

I was surprised she was taking this well so soon after it, but when I talked to Carlisle about it, he said she was probably in a little bit of a shock and denial and that when she was ready, she'd deal with it in her own way. Then I cornered Rosalie, wanting to know every single detail she had for me.

"Where is he?" Was the first thing I asked her. I wanted to know so I could kill him.

"Dead hopefully. At the very least he's going to be a vegetable for the rest of his pathetic life." Rose said vehemently.

"What did you do?" I asked.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I hit him over the head with your baseball bat… repeatedly."

God I love Rose.

"Carlisle dragged him out into one of the bedrooms and to the bathroom." She continued. "But Demitri obviously wasn't his main concern. By the time Carlisle realized Bella wasn't going to let him near her and went to check on Demitri, he'd bled out all over the floor. Carlisle said he was then barely alive, but god only knows by now."

"Did you call the cops?" I asked, I think she knows better, but I wanted to make sure.

Rose shook her head with a disgusted look on her face. "No. You think I'm stupid?"

"Does anyone else know about this? Emmett, Tanya, anyone?" I asked, ignoring her comment.

"No. You told me to just call Carlisle, so that's all I did. And I told him to keep it quite until you got back home." She said.

If anything, Rose took directions to a tee.

"Good. Tell everyone that Demitri attacked Bella and you walked in on it, like you did, but leave out the part where you bashed his skull in, please. Say that he got scared or something and ran for it. No one knows where he is." I told her the story I had come up with in my head.

She nodded and looked down at her red fingernails, glancing up at me hesitantly.

"… What are you going to do with his body?" She muttered.

"Don't worry about it. Just go tell everyone the story and get Em and Jasper over here to help me." I responded.

Rose sighed at me but walked out of the house anyway.

I walked through the house, peeking my head in to check on Bella. She was still asleep on the couch, her face scrunched up as she mumbled things I couldn't make out. Closing the door quietly, I walked to the bathroom to find Carlisle.

He was sitting on the side of the bathtub, his face in his hands. Demitri's lifeless body was sprawled out across the floor, blood pooled around his head.

_Bastard's lucky. If he was still alive, I'd cut him up into little pieces and make sure he was still alive through it until I was done. _

"I told Rose to tell everyone that he ran. And Em and Jazz are going to come help clean up." I said softly.

He looked up at me and nodded.

"What's wrong dad? You honestly can't be pissed that you couldn't save him." I snorted.

"That's not it son. I'm just thinking about Bella. Poor girl's been through so much in the past couple weeks, but this could have been avoided. None of us liked the guy, I should have said something about it to Sasha; asked more about him… something." He sighed.

"This isn't your fault." I told him truthfully. There was no way he could have know Demitri would do something like this.

"I just feel like I should have done something." He said, rubbing his face with his hands, reminding me of when I do it.

"Is he still alive? 'Cause if he is I'm gonna kill him!" Emmett roared through the house. I winced and cursed, running out of the bathroom.

"Shut up! Bella's sleeping!" I snarled through my teeth.

"Sorry." He whispered, looking sheepish.

Jasper came in a second later with a scowl on his face, his eyes narrowed and taking in every inch of the room.

"Where is he?" Jasper mumbled.

"In the main bathroom, dead." I answered.

"Damn it! I wanted a piece of him!" Emmett cursed under his breath.

"Is Bella alright? Rose said she was shaken up quite a bit, but over all she was alright." Jasper asked, concern that I'd only seen him show for Alice coming out in his voice.

"Bella is… alright, I guess. The bastard did some damage, but nothing too serious. She's shaken up and still in shock, but Carlisle says that she'll get over that when she's ready." I told him, running my hands through my the whole time.

Jasper and Emmett both frowned.

"Come on, let's get this over with." I said, wanting to get back to Bella as soon as possible.

"How are we gonna get him out without anyone seeing? It's still daylight. At least with Riley it was dark." Jasper asked when we reached the bathroom.

"Take him out the back and around the side. There's a small boat there that we can row out so no one will see, but it only fits two, so only one of us can row him out." I answered.

"I'll go get the sandbags." Jasper volunteered and walked out.

Ten minutes later, we were tying the sandbags to him with thick rope, making sure they were secure enough they wouldn't come undone and loaded him into the boat. I got in after him and started rowing, thanking god I was in good enough shape to do this.

Rowing out a good half a mile, I stopped the boat and shifted around, getting a hold of the body and hefted him out and over the side, watching as he made a satisfying splash in the water. I stood there and watched his lifeless body sink further and further into the ocean to be lost forever.

I stayed there for another ten minutes or so, making sure he stayed down, before rowing back to shore. Securing the small boat back where it was, I jogged back to my house, eager to get back to Bella.

_Hopefully she hasn't woken up yet… I want to be there when she does. _

But when I walked through the back door, I knew my plans for Bella would have to wait a couple more minutes at least.

Apparently, World War Three was taking place in my living room.

Rose, Em, Jasper, Tanya and Esme were standing around the coffee table, all wearing very serious expressions. I had a strong feeling I walked in on a heated discussion, and it didn't stop with my arrival.

"I think you're all lying and that bitch cried wolf! '_Oh he tried to rape me! Help, help!'_" Tanya screeched mockingly and flailed her arms around like an idiot.

"Bella is telling the truth! I saw that asshole with my own eyes on top of her, mauling her!" Rose defended heatedly.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled over them.

"_Tanya_," Rose sneered. "thinks that Bella is lying about Demitri attacking her to get attention."

"Little hypocritical don't you think, Tanya?" I asked, looking at her from the corner of my eye.

Her face flamed in a very unattractive way - the complete opposite of the pretty shade of pink Bella turned - and she stamped her foot. I winced as her five inch spike heels dug into my hardwood floors.

"Little whore got what she deserved then." Tanya sneered.

Now, I have never hit a woman before in my whole life, but damn it if I didn't want to wrap my hands around that bitches throat and strangle her.

Thankfully, I didn't have to.

Before I had time to take a step toward Tanya to act out the image I had in my head, Rose lunged at her, teeth and claws bared.

Wow.

Hair and nails were flying everywhere. Rose had tackled Tanya to the ground and was now straddling her, throwing punches like nobody's business. Tanya stretched her arms up and grabbed a hold of Rose's hair, tugging harshly. But Rose wasn't having any of that. She threw up her arms, knocking Tanya's out of the way and swiped her long nails across Tanya's face, making her screech.

"Look at my baby go!" Emmett hollered and did a fist pump. Completely ignoring the warning look Esme threw him, but she wasn't trying to stop the fight either, so I'm thinking that she was secretly enjoying watching Tanya get her ass beat.

Rose grabbed a handful of Tanya's hair and started slamming her head against the floor. Tanya was trying to roll over to get the advantage, but Rose ripped Tanya's earrings right out of her ears, making Tanya scream so loud I went temporarily deaf for a few seconds.

"Don't… you ever… come back… to my home… again you lying… whoring bitch!" Rose yelled between punches and scratches.

Emmett finally and reluctantly stepped forward to pull Rose off of Tanya and she fought him the whole way. He had to drag her into another room and calm her down.

Tanya was laying on the floor, almost completely motionless except for her sobs. I think she was just laying there from a combination of the pain she was in and fear that if she got up, Rose would go after her again. I could see that her face was a swollen, red, scratched up bloody mess with bruises already beginning to form. Her ears were bleeding from were Rose had ripped out her earrings and her shirt had several tears in it.

And that is why I do not fuck with Rosalie Cullen.

* * *

***Peeks out from laptop* Well…? Rose is bad ass ain't she? To quote Edward in this chappy - "God I love Rose." **

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	22. Chapter 22

**BPOV**

I was suffocating… The weight on top of me unbearable. I was gasping for breath but nothing was filling my lungs.

A rough, chillingly familiar voice was growling in my ear.

_Mine… mine… mine… _

I whimpered, still trying to breathe, to move, to do anything.

"_Bella… angel wake up._" A soft voice called to me. I felt hands on me, but they were different from the ones I was struggling against, I knew these hands.

Edward's hands. Big and warm, with long, gentle fingers.

I gasped as my eyes snapped open, focusing in on Edward's tense face.

"E-Edward!" I sobbed and flung my arms around his neck, bringing him down to me.

"Shhh… Shhh… It's okay baby… I've got you, he won't hurt you again." Edward murmured against my ear as I cried into his shoulder.

He held me like that for a while, just rocking me gently and whispering that everything was going to be alright.

"I-It was him. Demitri… he was that man in the room…" I cried.

Edward stiffed around me and his chest rumbled.

"It's okay, angel. He won't hurt you ever again, he can't. I swear." He promised, soothing me.

Eventually, I cried myself back to sleep. The last thing I knew, Edward was laying me back down in the mountains of pillows and blankets he'd set up for me on the couch and was softly trailing his fingers up and down my cheek.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

I slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry as I looked around the room. My head was pounding and every part of my body ached. I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my body and I collapsed back onto the couch with a moan.

"Bella!" A little voice it took me a moment to recognize in my state. Alice.

She hurried over to me and knelt down on her knees beside me.

"Oh Bella, I'm so glad you're finally awake! I was so worried! Are you in any pain? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you want me to go get Edward? He's in the shower right now, but I'm positive he won't mind." She rambled on.

I smiled a little at her and reached out to take her hand, making her stop talking.

"I'm fine Alice, a little umm… sore… everywhere… but it's not too bad." I told her.

She frowned and her bottom lip started to tremble.

"Hey! What's wrong?" I asked.

"I-I w-was just s-so worried!" Her voice trembled and stuttered in her effort to keep from crying.

"Oh Alice… I'm going to be okay now." I whispered.

"I know that you're alright - well, for the most part - but I was just so worried about you. Then you wouldn't wake up-"

"Wait, how long have I been asleep?" I interrupted. The way she was talking, it was like I'd been asleep for days.

Alice looked at me, then glanced toward the bathroom door, where I could hear the shower running, and back to me.

"You've been asleep for about fifteen hours. Except for those few minutes when you woke up from a bad dream, but that doesn't count because you went right back to sleep minutes later."

_Fifteen hours? That was a hell of a long nap. _

"Here's some pain pills Carlisle left for you. Go ahead and take them, they'll help." She said, handing me two little blue pills and a glass of water.

I did as she said, taking the pills and handing her back the water before laying back down in the pillows. I'd slept for fifteen hours and I still felt tired and weak.

The shower suddenly turned off and I could faintly hear someone moving around in the bathroom.

"I'm going to leave, Edward will be out in a few seconds. I hope you feel better Bella and if you want me to come over, just call and I'll be right there." Alice said, then wrapped her little arms around me gently, obviously having been told on my injuries or at least some of them.

"Thank you Alice." I whispered to her and watched with a smile on my face as she skipped out in her usual manner, softly shutting the door behind her.

Not twenty seconds after Alice had left, did Edward walk out the bathroom in nothing but a towel. His face was drawn into a frown as he stared at the floor as he walked. His still wet hair clung to his forehead and made me want to brush it back.

"You're awake!" Edward exclaimed. I'd been so caught up in looking at him, I didn't realize that he'd noticed me.

He was over to me in a flash and leaning over me, giving me a great view of his bare chest, water droplets running down his pecs and abs, disappearing into the towel slung around his waist.

I'm sure my face was red, but my eyes just wouldn't look anywhere else.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, bringing my gaze up to his concerned face.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Alice gave me some pain pills, I'm already starting to feel… less sore."

Edward's face screwed up and he grunted, glaring at the door.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I told Alice not to come in here until you were awake. She must have snuck in here when I jumped in the shower." Edward said.

He gave me another once over then walked over to his dresser, pulling out clothes.

"I'm going to go get dressed in the bathroom. I'll be right back out." He informed me and ducked into the bathroom.

I tried to sit up again, my entire body didn't hurt so much now, just a pounding headache. I pushed myself up and threw the blankets off me. I was getting way too hot.

"Do you feel alright?" Edward asked as he came back into the room fully dressed.

I nodded and swung my legs off the couch.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, an appalled look on his face as he started toward me.

"I'm trying to get up. It's too hot under all those blankets and I need to pee and take a bath or something." I told him.

He stopped me before I could even try to get up, gently laying his hands on my shoulders.

"Let me help."

I huffed and looked up at him with a scowl. "I think I can walk to the bathroom, Edward."

"Just… Just let me help you." He insisted.

"For the love of God! I'm not some porcelain doll! Just leave me alone, Edward!" I yelled.

Instantly my mouth snapped shut and my eyes went wide. I didn't mean to yell at him…

Edward's hands instantly left my shoulders and he looked down at me with a hint of sadness in eyes, but mostly it was disbelief.

"I-I'm sorry Edward." I apologized.

"It's okay Bella, I understand." He said tiredly.

He backed away from me and stared for the door. "I'll be out in the living room if you need me."

"I didn't mean it! I just… Please don't make me feel useless." I whispered the last part so softly I was sure he didn't hear it.

Edward turned on his heel and came back to me, kneeling in front of me.

"I'm not trying to make you feel useless, angel. You're clearly still in pain, no matter what you say otherwise. I was only trying to help you a little. I want to take care of you… be there for you." He said to me, comfortingly brushing his hands up and down my bare legs.

"Oh Edward, you're _already _here for me. I think carrying me to the bathroom is incredibly insignificant compared to… what you… helped me through yesterday." I said hesitantly, images of the day before flashing through my head, making me shudder.

"Hey… it's okay." He said, gently cupping my face in his hands to make me look at him. I nudged my face into his hand, sighing at the warmth and softness against my sore face.

"Will you help me to the bathroom? My legs do still hurt a little." I asked.

Edward nodded and carefully picked me up bridal style, cradling me against his chest. Once he set me down in the bathroom, he left to give me some privacy and said to call when I was finished.

I groaned when I saw myself in the mirror.

_I look like I went through a hurricane…. _

My hair was a total mess, dark circles were under my eyes, and a large purple-blue bruise marred my cheekbone.

And that was just my face.

I looked like I was swimming in Edward's now wrinkled shirt and if I looked at the right angle, I could see down the shirt and see what seemed like dozens of red and bruised bite marks down my neck and chest.

Flashes of how they happened and actually seeing them with my own eyes like this caused bile to rise up in my throat and I bent over the toilet just in time, violently throwing up into it.

I felt hands wrapping around my hair and pulling it away from my face. I knew it was Edward and I couldn't help but be embarrassed that he was seeing me like this and tried to push him away, but I wasn't successful. Trying to push away a man twice as big as you while you're bent over puking your guts out is impossible.

When I was finished, Edward handed me a cup of water that I eagerly took and rinsed my mouth out, spiting out into the sink.

He snaked his arms around my waist, slowing pulling me back against his chest.

"Do you still feel sick?" He asked.

I shook my head no and felt him bury his face into my hair.

"I'm so sorry I didn't stay. If I hadn't of gone into work you never would have been alone." He whispered regretfully, his voice cracking.

I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but I realized that I couldn't. It wasn't his fault, far from it, but I couldn't deny that if he hadn't of gone to work, I wouldn't have been alone and open to… _him_. I couldn't say anything, so I just stood there against him and felt his deep breaths.

"Can I just go lay back down?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Of course, angel." He said and lifted me back into his arms. "Do you want to stay in here or go out into the living room?"

I thought for a moment and the idea of watching some TV to take my mind off things sounded good.

"Living room, please." I said.

He didn't respond, just kept walking through the house. He settled me onto the couch, covering me with a fluffy throw-blanket and handed me the remote.

"Wait!" I called when he started to walk away. "W-will you stay with me?" I asked him.

Edward smiled and came back over to me, helping me sit up so he could slide in behind me, pulling me back into his chest so I was laying against him.

"Good?" He asked.

"Yes." I whispered and snuggled back into his warm chest. I heard him sigh as he rested his chin on top of my head.

"What do you want to watch?" He mumbled, turning the TV on.

I shrugged. Honestly, I just wanted to lay here with Edward, I didn't care what I watched while I was doing it.

"Well, Emmett made blueberry pancakes earlier and he left some over here for you. Do you want me to heat them up for you while you pick something to watch?" He asked.

On queue, my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning and I just threw up whatever might have still been in my stomach. I was starving… and surprisingly thirsty.

"Yes please." I answered.

Edward maneuvered me around so he could get up from behind me and laid me back down on the couch. Flipping through the hundreds of channels, I listened to Edward move around in the kitchen.

Hopefully he'll at least be able to reheat some pancakes… I really didn't want to get up to help him fix whatever mess he's made out of it.

A few minutes later, I'd finally settled on an episode of Doctor Who that I haven't seen yet. It was one of the newer ones with Matt Smith. He made a good Doctor, but my favorite is David Tennant. There's just something about the way David plays The Doctor.

Edward came back into the living room carrying a plate of steaming pancakes.

Disaster free.

"Here you go." He said, handing me the plate. I thanked him and dug in. He managed to move back behind me without disrupting me and my precious blueberry pancakes.

We sat in silence as I ate, the only sounds coming from the TV. Edward seemed tense for some reason. I don't think he was like that before he went into the kitchen…

As I ate, I tried to think about what could be bothering him. And as petty and self-conscious as it sounds, the only thing I could think of was… me.

I finished my pancakes and Edward went to grab the plate from me, but I pulled it back.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked at me warily, seeming to be contemplating what to tell me, but before he could, a loud chime echoed through the house, telling us someone was at the door.

"I'll be right back." Edward said against my cheek, pushing me up enough to slide out and went to answer the door. I could here him talking to someone, but I couldn't figure out who. It sounded like a woman…

Not Alice or Rose; they would have just walked right in.

My curiosity was about to get the best of me when Edward walked back in.

"Sasha is here… She wants to talk to you. Would that be okay?" Edward informed me.

_Sasha_… Oh.

She wants to talk to me?

"Ummm… Yeah, that's fine." What else could I say?

"Sasha, you can come in!" Edward called. She must have been waiting in the entryway because I didn't hear the door open before she walked into the room.

She was stunning even in blue jeans and a loose, flowy white shirt. I bet she rolled out of bed that way… If I wanted to look that good, I'd probably have to spend an hour or two with Rose and Alice.

I pulled at Edward's shirt that I was wearing and blushed.

"Good morning Bella." She greeted me warmly. "I'm sorry to just come over like this, but I wanted to talk to you."

I glanced at Edward and he was backing out of the room.

"You two talk, I'll be… somewhere else." He said and walked out.

_Great… He abandons me with a woman I hardly know…_

Sasha gracefully sat down beside me, turning to face me.

"I want to say I'm sorry for what that man did to you. We brought him along with us, trusting in Tanya's opinion of him, which we shouldn't have." Sasha apologized gravely.

"It's not your fault that he did what he did, you couldn't have known." I said immediately.

"Maybe not, but I still feel guilty and responsible. I was the one to bring him here with us." She said.

I shook my head.

"Actually, it was Tanya that brought him here with you." I said a bit sourly.

"I hope you don't mind if we stay another day or two. I promise you that Tanya won't be going anywhere near you. I've sent her back to the mainland and told her to check herself into a hotel." She told me, nervously biting into her lip.

_I guess I'm not the only one that has that particular habit…._

"Of course you can stay." I said, astonished. Why was she asking _me _if she could stay on her best friends island?

Sasha smiled softly at the expression on my face, obviously understanding what I was thinking.

"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable Bella. I may be here visiting my friends, but this is your home as well, and my family and I have no right to continue staying here if it makes you uncomfortable." She explained.

"I'm not uncomfortable with you being here. Please stay. I was actually looking forward to meeting all of you and getting to know you." I said truthfully.

She smiled and squeezed my hand affectionately.

"You are a very wonderful girl… Edward is lucky to have you." She said before standing up. "I better get going, Esme is making lunch. I just wanted to come over and speak to you, to make sure everything was alright."

"Everything is alright, Edward's taking good care of me." I assured her. "Thank you though, for coming over."

I watched her walk out of the room and heard the door softly click shut. A few minutes later, Edward came back in, hands shoved into his pockets and his head down. He looked sad about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked again.

He glanced up at me and shook his head. "Nothing." He said and slowly walked back over to me, sitting down heavily.

"Edward, I can tell by the sad look on your face that something's wrong. Please tell me." I nearly pleaded.

We sat in silence for a minute. I could tell he was thinking about what to say.

"Do you… do you want to… leave?" He whispered, sounding surprisingly vulnerable and little.

My heart clenched at his words, wounded by their meaning.

_Leave._

No.

"Do I want to…? No!" I exclaimed, starting to panic.

Why is he bringing this up? Does he want me to leave? Is he worried that'll leave him for some reason?

"You don't want to leave?" He breathed out, like he'd been expecting me to pack my bags and run the second I have the chance.

"No! Why would you think I want to leave?" I asked, appalled.

He laughed, but it was a hollow sound, with no humor in it. "Why would you want to leave? Maybe because you are in almost constant danger of some kind here with me. Maybe because you've been hurt more times than I can count in the couple weeks you've been here. Maybe because you think you're in love with a selfish asshole that bought you while you were being sold as a sex slave!"

Out of all those words, only five of them stood out to me.

_You think you're in love with…_

I choked back a sob at those words.

He doesn't even believe I love him.

At first, it was all I could do not to let the tears fall, but then I became angry. He thinks I don't really love him?

_I thought we went over this days ago_.

"Edward, I do I love you. What makes you think that I don't?" I asked incredulously. I was starting to get seriously pissed off.

He ignored my question, choosing instead to go on about total crap.

"If I hadn't bought you…."

"If you hadn't bought me, I'd be a sex slave to some sick bastard!" I snapped.

Edward winced and buried his face in his hands.

"Bella I want you to leave."

His voice was harsh and unwavering. I sucked in a breath, angrier than I've even been in my whole life.

"Fine! I'll leave, then!" I screamed, throwing myself from the couch and running out the door as fast as my bruised and sore legs would let me.

I snatched the boat keys off the table in the hallway and flung the door open, barely paying attention as I heard it bang loudly against a wall. The sand was hot beneath my bare feet, but I didn't focus on that either.

I didn't care that I was only wearing cotton sleep shorts and one of his shirts. Or that I didn't know how to properly drive the speed boat. I just had to get away from that stupid man.

When I finally reached the speed boat, I climbed in clumsily, resisting the urge to cry out as pain shot through my body.

"Bella!" Edward's voice called across the beach. I hardly paid him any attention

"You want me to leave?" I yelled back at him. "I'm leaving!"

Starting up the boat, I put it in gear and hit the gas pedal, but it didn't move. There was just a screeching sound that didn't sound good.

Shit!

I hit the wheel with my hands, frustrated tears rolling down my cheeks. I heard Edward jump on the boat and walk up behind me, breathing heavily.

"Bella… Stop." He said.

"No! If you want me to leave so badly, then I'm going to leave. I just need to get this damn boat working." I insisted, pushing and pulling random buttons and levers.

"Bella stop, or you're going to hurt yourself!" Edward yelled, grabbing me and trying to pull me out of the seat.

I struggled against him, mindless in my need to get this damn boat working and leave. I tried to spin away from him and when I did, his grip on my arms tightened harshly, digging into my painful bruises. I let out a gasp and cried out and Edward immediately released me.

My legs gave out on me and I collapsed onto the hard floor of the boat, tears running down my face from a combination of frustration, pain, and panic. Edward kneeled down next to me, but didn't try to touch me.

"Bella…" He whispered painfully. I looked at him through my blurry eyes and saw his face contorted in pain and worry. At that look, I totally broke down, letting everything out and I couldn't stop from launching myself into his chest.

"Please don't make me leave! Please!" I wailed. "I do love you! I'm sorry, please don't be angry at me about Demitri! I tried… I tried…" Sobbing all over his chest and clinging to his shirt.

"Shhh… I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He whispered, rocking me back and forth. "I'm not going to make you leave… I'm so sorry."

I cried in Edwards' arms for forever, his hands running up and down my back and smoothing my hair back from my wet face. All of this together made me sleepy, my eyes fluttered closed over my tears. My sobs quieted to soft cries and whimpers and I sniffled against Edwards' shirt.

I was barely aware of Edward lifting me up and carrying me somewhere.

His warm lips pressed against my forehead. "I'm so fucking stupid. I'm sorry my angel, please forgive me. Please don't leave. I was only trying to do what would make you safest."

I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, but I was still coherent enough to roll them behind my lids and snort angrily.

"I-If you e-ever do anything l-like that again, I'll k-kill you." I sniffled.

"I promise. I swear to God I'll never try to do that again. I couldn't take it." He murmured against my forehead.

I buried my tear stained face into his wet shirt and drifted off to sleep.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Bella… Bella wake up, please."

My eyes cracked open slowly to see Edward standing over me, his fingers brushing across my forehead.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"You need to pack some things. We're leaving."

I sat up as quickly as possible and stared wide eyed at him.

"Leaving? Right now? I thought we were going to wait a few more days." I said.

"I thought you might want to get away from here." He said, a worried look flashing across his face. "Was I wrong? Did I do that thing again that you hate; assume something that I think you'll like, but you really don't?"

"No, no." I assured him tiredly, trying not to yawn. "It's just… why are we leaving so early?"

The white window curtains were open and the sun was barely coming up. It was still mostly dark outside.

"I figured we should go before everyone gets up. Less questions to answer that way. I'll call Carlisle when we're at the airport." Edward told me, throwing a pair of jeans in a suitcase and zipping it up.

"Where are we going?" I asked softly, curious about where Edward had in mind.

"I was thinking maybe Italy? Greece? Wherever you want." He said, coming over sitting down next to me. "Do you still want to leave with me? Even after earlier?"

I turned red, embarrassed by my breakdown and didn't answer him for a minute.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted." I apologized. "I just snapped, I guess."

"_Don't_. Don't apologize for your reaction. I'm surprised that you're still speaking to me civilly. I thought when I woke you up you'd rip my head off. And you would have every right to do so." Edward said sternly.

"I'm not gonna lie; you're not totally forgiven yet, but I still love you. And if you ever try to tell me otherwise again, I'll kill you." I said, repeating my threat from earlier.

"I love you, too." He whispered, leaning in and brushing his lips across mine apprehensively.

"Greece." I mumbled suddenly against his lips.

"What?" Edward asked, pulling away, obviously not having heard me.

"Greece… I want to go to Greece." I repeated, louder and clearer this time.

He smiled widely. "Greece it is then. Go pack whatever you need. We'll buy everything else there."

* * *

***holds out tickets to stand in line to slap Edward* **

**Tsk… tsk… What shall I do with that man? And then there's Bella, who's obviously feeling very drama queen-ish. It's understandable though, right? **

**Next chapter will be about their trip to Greece and maybe a little lime? You want some lime?**


	23. Chapter 23

**BPOV**

Edward's driver pulled up to the tarmac where Edwards' private jet was waiting for us. Yes, a private jet. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised; if his family has their own island, I'm sure a private jet is nothing.

We'd gotten here in just under an hour, the traffic this early in the morning wasn't so bad. And we'd managed to leave the island without anyone finding out. I only carried two bags with me, full of a few days worth of clothes, my toothbrush and other toiletries and I made sure that my locket was still securely around my neck, afraid to lose it.

The driver, Michael, grabbed our bags while Edward carefully led me onto the jet, mindful of my still aching limbs. The jet was fairly small, only enough room for about a dozen passengers, but it more than made up for it luxury. Dark gray leather seats that Edward said were heated, a little mini bar in the back that held up to twenty different kinds of drinks, as well as plenty of food. A big screen TV was at the front, as well as small individual TV's in the back of each seat.

I finally got the appeal of owning a private jet.

I sat down in one of the comfy leather seats and melted into it while Edward went up to talk to the pilot. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, breathing in deeply.

I don't think I've actually processed that I'm on my boyfriends private jet, and he whisking me off to Greece for God only knows how long.

Edward came back into the cabin and took a seat beside me.

"We should be taking off in a few minutes." He told me.

I nodded, not knowing what to say. Honestly, I was still halfway asleep.

"I guess we should have stopped to get coffee first, huh?" Edward said, chuckling at the dazed look on my face.

I frowned at him, letting him know I was not amused and went back to staring at the roof of the plane.

Edward and I had silently agreed on to be on speaking terms, but I was still upset about the stunt he tried to pull and wasn't about to forgive him fully right away. I heard him sigh heavily and he didn't say anything else after that.

The plane started to take off and I focused on my breathing, trying to block out that queasy feeling I always got on planes.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked me softly.

I nodded my head, but didn't open my eyes. Edward's fingers ghosted over my hand, unsure if I'd allow him to touch me or not. I bit my lip and cracked one of my eyes open, glancing over at him. He was looking at our hands, watching closely as his fingers ran across mine. His eyes darted up to my face and when he saw that I was watching him, he snatched his hand away from mine and turned toward the window.

I pursed my lips, contemplating for a moment, then reached for his hand, pulling it back to mine.

"You can hold my hand, Edward." I mumbled.

He smiled brightly and squeezed my hand gently.

"You'll love it in Greece. We can visit the Acropolis, the Parthenon and Delphi, go to the museums, see a few shows, go shopping, sailing… whatever you want." He said softly, rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand.

I couldn't help but grin at his words, imagining every single thing he said. I've always wanted to go to Greece. It's been on my 'Must Visit' list since I was a little girl. I had always looked through books on Greece and wondered at all the monuments, wondering what they'd be like if I could ever get the chance to see them up close.

"I can't wait." I told Edward, grinning despite myself.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

I fell asleep a few minutes into the flight, resting my head on Edward's shoulder and just passing out. He woke me up a few minutes before we were meant to land and helped my sleepy ass get off the plane.

Another black car was waiting for us and when I sat down inside, I spotted two large, steamy cups of coffee in the cup holders. I practically launched myself at one of the cups.

"Be careful, they're still hot." Edward warned, smiling at my reaction and reaching for his own cup.

I blew into the coffee for a few moments before I couldn't resist the sweet aroma anymore and took a little sip. I moaned as the hot tasty liquid flowed over my taste buds and down my throat. Edward groaned softly, obviously trying to hide it from me, and I looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

He blushed and squirmed in his seat.

"Sorry. The uh… the sound you made when… Fuck." He mumbled.

I smirked at him and laughed as quietly as I could. Glancing down at his lap, I caught sight of a prominent bulge in his jeans and my eyes widened.

_Awkward turtle… _

"Sorry." I whispered, not really knowing what else to say when a guy sitting next to you has an erection, because of you.

"It's alright Bella. It's not your fault. I'm just a little umm… tense." He said, squirming around again.

The rest of the ride was in silence. Edward seemed focused on his _problem _while I looked out the window, watching as all the sites went by. I looked at all the buildings, the mountains, people walking around, enjoying their day.

I couldn't wait to get out there with Edward and be like those people; relaxed, having fun, laughing and oblivious to the darker problems of the world.

We pulled up to the hotel we were staying at - The Aphrodite Astir Palace Hotel. Just by the name I knew Edward had booked the fanciest hotel he could find.

"Edward…" I groaned.

"I know, I know. It's a bit more than what you said you wanted, but I want to give you this. Please, I can afford it and you deserve it." Edward said, giving me a pleading look.

I glanced back at the spectacular hotel, it's tall white archways and marble glistening in the sun, and looked back at Edward.

"Alright." I relented.

His face lit up and he darted forward, placing a quick kiss on my lips. His hot lips seared into mine and I blinked in shock, realizing just how long it's been since Edward and I had had an… intimate moment.

I was surprised that I miss it as much as I do. Especially after the episode with Demitri and the fight Edward and I had just a few hours ago.

"Bella, I'm sorry." Edward apologized, bringing me back into focus.

"What?" I asked, curious about what he had to be sorry for.

"For kissing you like that. I shouldn't have done that without-"

"Stop." I interrupted. "It's perfectly fine for you to kiss me like that. Kissing me isn't something that you need permission or apologize for. No matter what's happened over the past day or two, I still love you. You just need to stop being a jerk." My mouth quirked up at the end and watched as he blushed and frowned at himself.

"I really am sorry about that Bella. I wasn't thinking too clearly and I just blurted out the first thing I could think of that would keep you safe. I'm such a fucking jackass." He said, tugging on his poor abused hair.

"Hey, what did your hair ever do to you?" I teased, reaching up to pull his hand away.

He chuckled and let me rest his hand on my lap. "You know, when I originally started planning for us to get away, I pictured it to be a bit on the romantic side." He admitted.

I hesitated only for a second before leaning in, my mouth against his ear and whispered. "Who says it won't be?"

His eyes widened and his mouth opened, but no words came out. I giggled and opened the car door, stepping out carefully. Edward followed a few seconds later, that stunned look still on his face. He recovered quickly though, putting his hand on the small of my back and leading me towards the hotel.

"What about our bags?" I asked, turning back to the car.

"The driver will get them." Edward said.

Sure enough, the driver was pulling them out of the trunk. I frowned, not being too comfortable with other people doing things that I could easily do myself. Before I could protest, Edward was guiding me though the large glass front doors and I was overcome by the inside of the hotel.

The first thing that caught my eye was the large expanse of creamy marble floor throughout the lobby. There was a manmade waterfall on the left wall and a winding staircase on the other side, leading up to the next floor. The walls were covered in what I was sure was expensive artwork. The entire back wall was nothing but glass, revealing the white sandy beach and sparkling blue water. It reminded me a little of the island, but about a hundred times better.

"Wow…" I finally whispered.

"Do you like it?" Edward asked me.

"I love it." I said, smiling up at him and bouncing on my heels.

He chuckled and grabbed my hand, pulling me with him to the front desk.

A beautiful woman was standing at the desk, looking at Edward like he was on a desert menu. She was a little taller than me, with long straight black hair, big green eyes and olive skin. The clothes she was wearing showed off curves that I could never hope to have in my life. The gold nametag she had on said _Gianna_.

I was acutely aware of the bruise on my cheek from where Demitri had hit me, making me feel even more self-conscious. And this very pretty woman staring at Edward wasn't helping.

I didn't like the way Grecian Barbie was eyeing my man.

"Hello sir, what can I help you with today?" Gianna said to Edward smoothly, completely ignoring me.

"Yes, we need to sign in. The name is Cullen." Edward said, completely ignoring the way she was pushing her chest out at him.

I smirked at her as her face fell slightly and turned to her computer, typing away. Edward nudged my shoulder lightly, catching my smirk. I looked up at him innocently and he just shook his head, smirking himself.

"Alright, I have you right here Mr. Cullen; The Imperial Suite." Gianna interrupted our moment.

_The Imperial Suite? Oh lord… That sounds expensive. _

I gave Edward a look that clearly said I wasn't too pleased and he just smiled back.

Gianna handed Edward two key cards, one of which he handed to me.

"Enjoy your stay. And if there's _anything _I can help you with, just let me know." Gianna purred, winking at Edward.

I huffed and was about to open my mouth to rip her a new one, but Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me snuggly into his side.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I'm sure that _my girlfriend _will take care of any needs I may have." He said to her, squeezing me gently when he said _girlfriend_.

I couldn't help but beam at his words and smile smugly at her.

Gianna looked taken aback, her eyes darting from Edward to me several times before finally coming to rest on me, narrowing her eyes at me and tilting her chin up.

"Hmmm… Like I said Mr. Cullen, just let me know." She said smugly before answering the ringing phone.

I bit into my lip harshly to keep from telling her to go fuck herself and some other very colorful words. Thankfully Edward ushered me away quickly, walking toward the elevator.

"Bella, it's alright. She was just trying to get a reaction out of you." Edward whispered as we waited for the elevator to get here.

"The last time maybe, but the first time; no. That was all for you. She basically offered to go fuck you on the desk." I ranted, immense jealously coursing through me.

She was extremely beautiful and a few years older than me, so she was closer to Edward's age. What the hell would Edward want with little old me when gorgeous, Greek, Gianna was laid out in front of him for the taking?

"She can ask however many times she wants to. My answer will always be _no_. I love you. She doesn't hold a candle to you." Edward said. His words made me feel a little better. "Besides, her breasts were fake. I prefer the real thing." He said simply.

"You noticed?" I asked, trying to sound angry, but I was really trying hard not to laugh.

His face became panicked and I could see him trying to come up with an explanation. "No! It was just that they were obvious!"

I couldn't handle it anymore and started laughing. "Edward… calm down. I'm not angry." I said through giggles. "I can't blame you for seeing them. You'd have to be blind to not to."

He stared at me for a moment before bursting out laughing. The elevator doors opened and we stepped in, laughing as quietly as possible.

"Seriously Bella," Edward started, recovering from laughing. "that woman means nothing to me."

"I believe you, Edward. I just get a little irrationally jealous." I admitted softly.

Edward took a step toward me, making my back hit the wall of the elevator. Looking up at him, I watched as he leaned down slowly, his eyes never breaking contact with mine.

"Do I love you, Bella?" He asked me quietly, intensely.

"What?" I was confused by his question and his close proximity wasn't helping.

"Do… I love… you, Bella?" Edward repeated slowly.

"Yes…" I answered him.

"Do you sleep next to me in bed?" He asked, his thumb brushing over my uninjured cheek.

"Yes…" I repeated, breathless.

"Do I kiss you everywhere from here," He brushed his lips against my forehead. "to here." His other hand slowly ran up my thigh.

My breath hitched and my eyes fluttered. I let out a little whimper, unable to form words at this point.

"Do I do any of those things with that girl, Gianna? Or any other women for that matter?" Edward whispered in my ear.

I shook my head _no_, my eyes closed and lips slightly parted, breathing heavily.

_God… what this man does to me… _

Unfortunately, the elevator dinged, signaling that we'd reached our floor. Edward pulled away from me and gently brushed his hand across my face, no doubt making sure I was still alive. My eyes opened once more and was met with his smiling face.

"Are you ready?" He asked smoothly, seemingly completely unaffected by what just happened.

_Smug bastard… _

I pulled myself together and walked past him on shaky legs into the hallway. Edward and I walked side by side down the hallway, stopping when we came to our door. He wrapped his arm around my waist as he unlocked the door and guided me into the room.

Excuse me… The apartment.

'Cause that's what it looks like.

"Oh my God Edward." I mumbled.

What I'd call the living room was well equipped with a couch, glass coffee table, and a very big TV on the wall. A black shag - yes _shag _- rug covered part of the light hardwood floors that I'm sure went through most of the suite.

I could see a small kitchen off to the right and a hallway that probably led to the bedroom and bathroom. I was scared to find out what else was in this place.

"How long are we staying here?" I asked.

"Only for about a week. We just need to stay here until the Villa is ready." He told me.

There was a knock on the door which he went to answer. It was probably someone with our bags.

Wait…

_The Villa? _

I stood completely still and blinked repeatedly, trying to process what Edward just said.

Edward never mentioned a Villa to me.

But, just like with the private jet, I shouldn't be surprised.

Edward came back, setting our bags beside the couch.

"What's wrong angel?" He asked when he noticed I still hadn't moved.

"You didn't tell me we were staying in a _Villa_, Edward." I said.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I was going to tell you… well I did tell you just now." He said, trying to explain himself.

I simply nodded. "So, about this Villa. What is that exactly?" I asked.

Edward walked with me over to the couch and sat down, pulling me down on his lap. "Well, it's mine. I bought it a couple years ago when I was here for business for a couple months. I didn't really want to stay in hotels for all that time. It doesn't get used much, the last time it was used was when Em and Rose used it for their vacation about seven months ago. So I had to call the cleaning service that my family uses to have it readied for us, but since this was so last minute, we're going to have to stay here for a few days."

The whole time he was explaining this to me, I had my head rested against his chest, looking up at him as he spoke.

"You bought a villa just so you could use it for a couple months?" I asked disbelievingly. I'd never grown up with much money, so the thought that he'd do such a thing baffled me.

He looked down at me and frowned slightly. "Yeah… I didn't want to stay in a damn hotel every night for three and a half months." He said as if it was completely obvious.

I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't say anything else. Choosing instead to snuggled into his chest farther and close my eyes.

"Are you tired, angel?" Edward whispered into my hair, slowly rubbing his hand up and down my thigh in a surprisingly non-sexual manner.

I nodded my head and hummed, realizing that I was indeed tired, despite the sun shinning into the room from the big picture window.

"It's just the jet lag, you'll get over it in a day or two." He said to me as he stood up smoothly, cradling me in his arms.

The last thing I remember is Edward telling me something about taking a nap with me, then I passed out.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

I was hot… and something heavy was on me.

I wanted to get whatever it is off me, but I didn't want to open my eyes, or even move for that matter.

Laying still for another minute, I hoped whatever it was would move on it's own, but it didn't happen. So I reluctantly cracked my eyes open and shifted under the heavy object.

Edward was laying next to me in bed, on his stomach with his right arm flung across my stomach. I sighed and pushed his arm off me. He really was adorable when he was sleeping. His face so soft and relaxed, his lips parted and a little drool in the corner of his mouth.

I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind wouldn't shut off. I kept thinking about what we could do while we're here, spending weeks and months completely alone with Edward, no one here to bother us or burst in on us making out like teenagers on the couch. Well, I am a teenager… But you get the point.

Peaking at Edward again, I got an idea.

Smirking, I threw the covers off me quietly and crawled over to him across the bed on my hands and knees. I noticed that all I had on was my boy-short underwear and tank top. Edward must have taken off my clothes…

I swung my left leg over him, so I was straddling his lower back and hovered over him so I didn't wake him up yet. I took a moment to examine his back. I never thought backs could be sexy, but Edward pulled it off.

His shoulders were wide, muscled, tan and smooth, but I could see a little freckle I've never noticed before on his right shoulder. His back came down to a tapered waist and hips that were currently being hugged by his boxer briefs.

I felt the desire to touch and kiss every inch of his well toned back, so that's just what I did.

Leaning forward, I lightly pressed my lips to the back of his neck, gliding them across the skin of his shoulder until I reached that freckle, kissing it soundly.

Edward shifted under me and made a grunting sound, but didn't open his eyes or give any clue that he was awake, so I continued. I pecked several little kisses down his spine, reaching the top of his boxers before kissing my way back up.

Next, I started tracing my fingertips in patterns all over his back, swirling and tracing. I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I jumped when Edward's voice disrupted the silence.

"Bella…" Edward croaked sleepily. "What are you doing on my back?"

I giggled and didn't stop my fingers. "I'm tracing patterns on it."

He hummed and didn't say anything for a couple more minutes. I leaned over him and kissed his shoulder, a little firmer than the last time now that he's up.

"Mmmm… That feels nice." Edward murmured.

"Good." I said softly.

We remained like this for another ten to fifteen minutes, me kissing and gliding my finger over his back, occasionally nipping lightly here and there, making him moan and groan.

"Can I turn over?" He asked quietly into the pillow.

"Course." I say, lifting myself off him enough for him to turn over onto his back. His hands gently rested on my waist, his thumbs absentmindedly rubbing my ribs through my tank top.

"Did you sleep okay?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, until I woke up to some big lugs arm crushing me." I teased.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry angel." He winced and grabbed my hand, kissing the back of it.

"Your arm is very heavy, you know. I had to do some very awkward maneuvering to get up without waking you up." I continued to tease, reaching out to rest my hands against his chest.

His eyes travel along my torso, up and down several times before coming to stop at my neck.

"Bella… do you feel alright?" He asked.

"Yeah…" I said slowly.

"No Bella, _do you feel alright_?" He repeated, emphasizing it heavily. I frowned until his hand grazed my injuries on my chest and neck, looking pointedly at them.

"Oh… It's fine Edward. They don't even hurt anymore, really." I said. It was sorta the truth. The marks didn't hurt, but I was still a little sore. Though definitely not enough to stop whatever Edward was planning.

"Can I kiss you?" Edward asked huskily, eyeing my lips.

"Of course you can." I answered, leaning down and pressing my lips to his.

His hand gripped the back of my neck lightly, holding me to him as his lips worked against mine, sucking my top lip between his. I groaned and sighed into his mouth, loving the feel of his tongue tracing patterns on my lips, much like I did to his back with my fingers.

Edward pulled back and practically threw his head back into the pillows, gasping and clenching his eyes shut.

"What's wrong?" I panted.

"I need to stop. You are far too tempting for either of us to go any farther." He groaned.

"I don't want you to stop." I said quietly.

I saw him do a double take, not believing what I'd just said.

"But…"

I saw that I was going to have to take some initiative. So, I planted my hands firmly on his chest and ground my lower half into his erection.

"Motherfuck!" Edward gasped.

"I don't want you to stop." I murmured, repeating myself.

"Whatever you say, angel." He said and pulled my face back to his. Edward kissed me until I could barely breathe, then moved onto my cheeks, pressing his warm lips all over my face.

"I love you." He whispered into my forehead.

In response, I ground myself into him again and listened to him groan. "I love you, too."

"Fuck… Bella… Will you let me make you feel good? Please, angel… I wanna make you cum so bad." Edward pleaded into my mouth, his tongue slipping into glide across my own.

I whimpered and nodded my head the best I could. Having Edward's tongue in my mouth pretty much destroys any chance of me forming a coherent word.

Besides, who could say no to that?

He pulled away from me and sat up, leaning against the pillows and headboard and grasped my hips firmly, guiding me over his boxer clad cock. My hands found his biceps and grabbed them tightly, knowing I'd have to have something to hold onto during this.

Edward thrust his hips up into me, making him groan and me gasp in surprise.

_I can't believe I forgot how good it could feel even with a couple layers of clothes separating us._

As Edward thrust up into me again and I moved my hips in time with his, I completely forgot about everything else around us. Every thought fled my mind except for Edward and the sensations coursing through my body.

Edward groaned, burying his face in my neck and for a moment I tensed, a flash of what Demitri had done going through my mind, but Edward tenderly kissed my neck and I was reminded that he wouldn't hurt me.

We fell into a rhythm, thrusting and grinding against each other, panting and groaning against lips and skin.

"Oh… Please don't stop…" I whimpered into his neck.

"Never, angel… never…" He mumbled back to me, his hips never pausing in their thrusts up.

I moaned loudly as he hit a rather sensitive spot, my fingernails digging into his biceps.

"Fuck!" He hissed.

"Right there, Edward… please…" I moan out to him, desperate for him to hit that one spot again.

He hit the spot again, making me moan and I could feel him smirk against my cheek.

"Feel good, baby?" He asked huskily.

"Yes… oh yes…" I mumbled.

_How was he forming words? _

Edward suddenly stopped and I was about to complain when I felt his fingertips playing with my underwear.

"Can I…?" He asked softly, purposely running his finger down the seam of my boy-shorts.

I vigorously nodded my head and without a second thought his fingers slipped into my underwear and brushed my clit.

I gasped and jerked, unconsciously rocking into his hand.

"God, you're so hot and wet…" He whispered.

"What about… you?" I whimpered.

"This isn't about me. This is for you… not me." Edward murmured.

I couldn't say anything in response, so I just shifted against his hand, encouraging him to continue.

"More Edward… more." I pleaded.

"Shhh… Don't worry, I'll get you there." He assured me, his fingers keeping up their slow circles.

All I could do was hold onto his biceps and pray to whatever God was listening that he'd pick up his pace, 'cause I wasn't sure how much longer I could take it.

Edward's fingers continued their maddening slow circles on my clit, my hips thrusting in time with his fingers. His lips connected with mine when I felt his fingers shift and slide inside me, making me gasp and shudder.

Those two fingers pumped in and out of me while his thumb took over where they'd left off on my clit, making faster, sharper circles in sync with the fingers pumping me.

"Oh… Mmmm… Oh God, Edward." I whimpered.

"Come on baby, cum for me. Cum on my hand, angel." He encouraged me huskily.

I didn't need much encouragement.

"Oh fuck…. Edward!" I yelled, burying my face in his neck. I shuddered and panted, feeling every part of my body tingle and my toes curl and eventually collapsed on top of him.

I couldn't move, so I just lay sprawled out across his chest, listening to his heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat.

After a few minutes, his hand came up to brush the hair out of my face and rub down my back.

"Are you okay?" He whispered to me.

"Oh yeah…" I mumbled.

Edward chuckled, making me bounce up and down with his chest.

"Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm a little less mad." I said.

"Well, what would it take me to make you un-mad at me?" He asked, a teasing tone to his voice.

"I'm sure you can figure something out." I said, winking up at him.

"Challenge accepted." Edward said confidently, grinning down at me with that damn half smile.

Unable to help it, I snort into his chest, trying in vain to cover it up.

We laid there under the sheets, our limbs intertwined together and lazily kissing and caressing each other.

The shrill ringing of his phone broke our bubble and I had the sudden urge to thrown it across the room.

"I better get that." Edward said reluctantly, kissing me one last time before reaching behind him and grabbing his phone from the nightstand.

"Uh oh…" Edward muttered.

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

"It's Rose." He said. My eyes widened. _We forgot to call them and tell them where we were going… _

Edward slowly opened the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" He answered as calmly as possible.

The resulting shouting coming through the phone had him pulling it away from his ear and me moving back away.

"Rose- yes… I know… Oh for the love of God! We're fine!… Yeah well, Esme always worries too much…. I'm sorry… Fine."

Edward handed the phone to me with a grimace. "She wants to talk to you."

I sighed and took the phone from him.

"Hello?" I said quietly into the phone.

"Bella! Are you alright?" Rose practically yelled.

"Yes, I'm fine Rose. Why would you think I'm not?" I asked.

"You two scared us. With all the stuff that's happened the last couple days and then Alice and I go over to check on you and you're gone! No note, no phone call, nothing! You guys scared the hell out of us! We thought something bad had happened!" She ranted on and on. I don't think she was even breathing.

"Rose, Rose, calm down! We're both fine. I'm sorry we didn't call you, we were planning to, but we just got so caught up in things here." I explained, trying to make up excuses. They were pretty shitty ones if you ask me, but thankfully Rose went off on something else.

"What's _here_?" She asked suspiciously.

I glanced at Edward and quirked an eyebrow. He nodded, telling me it was alright to say where we are.

"We're in Greece." I told her.

"Greece! You're on the other side of the world! What were you thinking? How the hell are you supposed to be protected from James if you're on a whole other continent!" She yelled.

"That's the thing! He doesn't know where we are. None of you knew where we are until I told you just now. Edward and I figured this would be the best way to get out of James's sights until it's safe." I told her, listening to her grumble in a couple spots.

"All of us would just feel better if you were here with us." Rose said quietly.

"I'm sorry Rose. Edward and I just needed to get away for a while, and he thinks that this is safe." I said back just as quietly.

"Alright. I guess I understand." She muttered.

I smiled. "Thank you Rose. We'll miss all of you."

"You are so bring me and Alice back gifts." She said before hanging up.

I closed the phone and slowly handed it back to Edward.

"That went well." I said, trying to smile.

He snorted and threw the phone back on the table.

"That's because she has a soft spot for you. If it had just been me she was talking to, things would have gone completely the opposite of how they did." He said.

He had a point. Rosalie probably would have gotten on a plane over here just so she could kill him.

"What do you want to do?" Edward asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Can't we just lay in bed all day?" I whined, burrowing against his chest.

"We could, but I thought you might like to go out to dinner…." He said, trailing off suggestively.

Hmmm… Food does sound good. But I'm not sure I want to get out of this comfy bed with a practically naked Edward.

"You don't play fair." I mumbled.

"It's up to you, angel. I could always order room service if you don't feel like going anywhere today." He said and shifted to his side, pulling me into him.

I bit my lip, weighing the pros and cons in my head.

I really want to go out and see the city, even if it is just for dinner tonight. But, Edward and this bed was extremely comfortable and relaxing. Then I remembered the large bruise on my cheek and frowned at the thought of going out like that. The more reasonable part of me that the bruise wouldn't go away over night and it would be fine to do everything tomorrow, or even the day after.

"I just wanna stay in tonight." I said, trying not to let my inner worries come through.

"Alright. Let me go take a shower and then we can order something to eat." Edward said, kissing me before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

I watched him walk weirdly and realized that he still had a big problem.

"Edward, are you sure you don't want to uh…" I trailed off, motioning to his underwear.

"No, I'll take care of it. Earlier was about you." He said before disappearing into the bathroom.

I sighed and burrowed into the blankets, glancing at the clock to see that it was 5:42pm. I was still tired though from waking up earlier than I would have liked to and worn out from Edward.

I drifted in and out in the few minutes he was in the shower, fighting the urge to go to sleep. Finally the shower turned off and Edward came out in a towel.

_He really needs to stop that… I have issues controlling myself when he's like that. _

"What do you want to eat?" He asked.

"I have the weirdest craving for chili cheese fries." I said, wincing as I did, not sure about his reaction to me wanting such a trivial food

"Chili cheese fries?" He asked, smiling at me. I nodded and waited for him to tell me that it was stupid.

"You know what; I haven't had chili cheese fries for years. It does sound good." He smiled, picking up the phone and dialing the number for room service.

I giggled at him and sighed. I was looking forward to this time on our own.


	24. Chapter 24

**BPOV**

We'd been in Greece for five days now. Edward took me out every day or night, either to lunch, sightseeing, shows, or dinner. Most of the time it was a combination.

On the second day here, Edward took me out shopping for a massive amount of clothing and other necessities. He basically handed over his black card and told me to get whatever the hell I wanted. Of course, I wasn't going to abuse it, so I picked up only what I thought I'd need. But when Edward caught on to what I was doing, he started just picking up clothes off the racks, walking over to the sales clerk and buying them.

I had a little bit of a fit, but after he pulled me into the dressing room, kissed me until I couldn't even think properly and told me that he could spend his money however he wanted, and he wanted to spend it on me, I became a bit more freer with using the card.

On our third day here, he took me to see the Acropolis. We spent hours there, just because I couldn't stop marveling at the magnificent structure. It was beautiful; huge columns and white stone. It was one of the most wonderful pieces of ancient architecture I'd ever seen.

Most of the time was spent relaxing in the hotel room, recovering from the jet lag, watching TV and being all around lazy.

There was no drama, no one interrupting us, no one else running around the house… Nothing.

It was amazing.

I was currently curled up in the large, squishy arm chair in the living room, reading _The Hunger Games_. I'd meant to read it before… uh… before everything, I'd just never gotten around to it. So when we passed the book shop on one of our outings and I saw it in the window, I asked Edward if I could get it. He got me all three books in the series. I didn't complain… too much. Edward's reasoning was that we might as well get the whole series while we were there, instead of going out to buy each book separately.

Edward was in the kitchen (dangerous, I know) dishing out our take-out. We ordered from one of the many local Greek restaurants some pasta called Pastitsio. Edward said it was basically the Greek equivalent of lasagna and it looked amazing. It was made with pasta, liberal amounts of cheese, egg, tomato and beef. He also ordered something called _Finikia_ for desert. They were little almond cookies made with orange juice, honey and grains. I was slightly skeptical, but Edward told me they were really good and that I had to try them.

"Here you go." Edward announced, carrying our plates through the living room.

"Thank you!" I said, putting my book down and taking the plate from him. "This looks amazing."

I went over to sit next to him on the couch, setting my plate on my legs.

I took a bite of the Pastitsio, humming as I chewed. It really was delicious. I noticed Edward watching me and grinning, spearing a piece of his own with his fork and popping it into his mouth.

We ate in relative silence, occasionally making comments to each other

"The villa is ready for us to move in." Edward said when we were almost finished.

"Really? Does that mean we're leaving tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, it's still fairly early, I thought we could leave after dinner if you want." He said between bites.

I blanched at his words. It was seven o'clock at night and by the time we got everything packed and we were ready to leave, it would probably be closer to nine.

"Edward, it'll take us a while to pack and everything, it'll be too late by the time we're ready." I protested.

"I can have someone pack our things." He said with a smirk.

"No. I'm not having strange people packing my things… my underwear…" I mumbled the last bit.

He just chuckled and took another bite of food.

"Fine then, we can pack our things tonight and leave first thing in the morning. I wanna leave as soon as possible, I hate being in hotels for long periods of time." He said, making a face.

"Why not?" I was curious about his aversion to hotels.

"When I was younger, Carlisle and Esme would travel a lot and take me, Em and Alice. We'd stay in hotels most of the time and I guess I just got sick of it. I like having an actual home. Not just someplace you can stay at for a few days." He explained, a forlorn look on his face.

"Oh…" I sighed, not knowing what to say to something like that.

I'd always been just the opposite. I wanted to travel, see places and stay in as many hotels as were needed. I thought that staying in a different hotel room every week would be fun and exciting, but looking at Edward, I realized there was a price to pay for it. You never really had a home. You never had your own bed every night that your mom could tuck you into. You could never come home from a long day at school and just relax in your own house.

What had Edward's family done for the holidays? Did they have a Christmas tree, or stockings hung up on the fireplace? You could do that stuff in hotels, right?

"That's horrible when you think about it like that." I said after a minute.

Edward shrugged and set his finished plate on the table.

"There were some perks. I got to travel the world with my family, do things and help people. It wasn't all bad." He said, smiling at me.

I eyed him carefully but didn't anything.

"Do you want to try those cookies now?" He asked when I finished.

"Of course. Who the hell doesn't want cookies?" I said excitedly. I was going to take any opportunity to eat cookies.

I watched as Edward took both our plates into the kitchen with him.

Maybe moving into the villa tonight wouldn't be too hard. I could understand Edward's issues with staying in hotels and didn't want to make him feel bad just 'cause I was too lazy to pack a few suitcases.

He came back in with a plate full of cookies, sitting down and pulling me into his side. He picked up one of the little oval shaped cookies and held it up to my mouth.

"Take a bite." He said.

I opened my mouth and bit into the cookie, taking a good chunk of it.

"Mmmm… Wow, this is good cookie." I said through a mouthful delicious sugar and almonds.

Edward laughed and took a bite out of it. We sat there feeding each other cookies for a while. I'm sure I had way more than I should have, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

"Edward," I started after swallowing the last bit of cookie, "we can move into the villa tonight. I don't mind, honestly."

"I thought you didn't want to do it this late." He said.

"Aren't I allowed to change my mind?" I asked.

"Well, of course. But you just said-"

"I know what I said, but now I want to leave tonight." I interrupted him.

He looked at me strangely, probably wondered if I lost my mind.

"Okay…" He said. "Then we better get to packing."

I jumped off the couch and walked through the hallway to the bedroom, pulling the new suitcases we bought out from under the bed.

"Eager are we?" Edward asked from behind me.

_He was probably just standing there staring at my ass hiked up in the air. _

I sat up fully, kneeling on the floor beside the bed, looking up at him.

"We need to pack quickly. I don't want to be here all night packing everything you made me buy." I said, giving him a pointed look.

He walked over and pulled out the rest of the suitcases for me, putting a couple on the bed.

"I didn't have to buy you clothes, I'd have been happy if you walked around naked the whole trip." He whispered into my ear, kissing my temple and pulled away to go over to the closet.

I blushed, but smiled at him.

_I bet he wouldn't mind… _

I picked up one of the smaller bags and went into the bathroom, packing all of our toiletries. My reflection in the mirror caught my eye and I examined myself.

Over the past few days, my bruises have nearly disappeared, the cut across my throat healing and the stitches almost all the way dissolved. Some of the bite marks were still there, but they were faded, less visible and easily hidden with some concealer, for which I was extremely happy.

I couldn't wait until they were all gone and my body would be cut, bruise and bite mark free.

Edward had warned me that a few of them might leave scars, but he got some kind of ointment that he rubbed into them every night to help reduce scarring. So hopefully they won't be too bad.

I packed everything into the bag, going back out to the bedroom where Edward was just throwing his clothes in a suitcase.

"Wait, you need to fold those." I said, pulling a shirt out of the bag and folding it up.

"Bella, they're going to be in there for an hour, maybe. I'm not going to fold every piece of clothing I own for that." He said, taking the shirt back from me and tossing it in the bag.

I frowned, but didn't say anything more. Instead, I focused on packing my own suitcase, making sure to fold every single article of clothing, while occasionally glancing up at Edward and smiling sweetly.

He shook his head and smirked. "You are such a pain in the ass sometimes."

"My mom always taught me to pack neatly, then you can fit more things into a bag." I replied.

"You miss them don't you?" Edward asked out of the blue.

"Sometimes." I admitted.

He came around the bed to where I was standing and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into my hair.

"It's not your fault, Edward. And I don't miss them all the time. I know that if I was still in college I wouldn't be seeing them, either. I missed them while I was at Yale, it's no different here." I told him.

"I understand, but I just hate being part of the reason for keeping you away from your family." He sighed, resting his chin on top of my head.

"I'd much rather be here with you, than back in Forks with my parents." I said, laughing.

He smiled and kissed my neck, making my breath hitch when he hit a certain spot. I melted back into his chest and bit my lip to keep in a little moan.

Edward and I hadn't actually had sex since we'd been here. It was all bumping and grinding over the clothes. Or sometimes he would slip his hand in my shirt or underwear, but that was as far as it went. And even that was few and far between.

Honestly, I was getting a little frustrated.

I understood and loved that he was trying to give me space in that department because of what happened with Demitri. I was still a little traumatized by it, but my nightmares had gone away and I definitely wasn't afraid of anything of a sexual nature anymore. At least not from what we'd done.

Edward's lips moved over my neck, planting opened mouth kisses here and there.

He was driving me fucking crazy.

"Edward… Please." I nearly whined, taking his hand that had been around my waist and slowly brought it down to the top of my pants.

"I… We can't." Edward said, pulling away and walking back around the bed.

"Why not?" I asked breathlessly.

"We have to finish packing." He said brusquely, not looking at me.

I made a face at him (real mature, I know) and just started throwing the rest of my clothes in the suitcase.

We finished packing in silence and I didn't look at him again. I was just so frustrated! Edward's a man, he should be the one wanting all the sex. I wanted more, I wanted to feel that connection to him again and he was so damn resistant because he thought I wasn't ready. I was starting to develop a complex.

_Maybe he doesn't want to have sex with me after what happened… Maybe he does think I'm dirty. _

That's it, I can't take it anymore.

"Edward, why don't you want to have sex with me?" I blurted out.

He froze and his head snapped up.

"Why don't I… What?" He asked.

"You heard me Edward." I mumbled.

"You think I don't want to have sex with you?" He asked incredulously.

"Maybe… Yes… I don't know." I said to him.

I didn't know what he wanted and it was confusing me and making me a little insecure.

"Bella, trust me, I want to have sex with you." Edward said heavily.

"It doesn't feel like it." I muttered.

"Come here." He said, motioning for me to come around the bed. I did as he asked, walking around until I was standing in front of him. He turned me and gently pushed me down until I was sitting on the edge of the bed, kneeling on the floor in front of me between my knees.

I sighed, looking down at him with a slightly frustrated expression.

"Bella, I love you. And trust me, I want to… make love with you, but I just didn't think it was the right time yet. Honestly, I was going to give you a couple more days before I even brought it up." Edward told me, reaching up to cup my face, his thumb tracing over my lips rather seductively.

"I just feel like…" I started to say, but stopped. "Never mind."

"No, what? What do you feel like?" He encouraged.

"Sometimes I feel like you don't _want _me anymore because of what happened." I admitted, looking away from him nervously and trying to keep the tears from my eyes.

"You think I don't want you because Demitri tried to hurt you?" He asked, raising his voice and standing up.

I shrunk back a little. He seemed to be angry and I didn't know what he'd do.

_Yes I do… No matter how upset Edward is, he would never hurt me._

I listened to the voice inside my head and hoped it was correct.

"Well, _is _that why?" I asked softly, peeking up at his towering frame.

"No no… no. God no." He exclaimed, falling back to his knees, but this time pressing his face against my shoulder, nuzzling his face into my neck. "That is not even remotely close to the reason. Bella, I do not think any less of you because of what that bastard tried to do to you. If anything, I think _more _of you for it. You were strong and you fought as hard as you could, I'm not going to stop loving you… or wanting you for that."

I brushed my fingers through his hair repeatedly in slow, monotonous motions. His words reassured me and I melted into his arms.

"Will you let me show you?" He asked seductively.

"Show me what?" I squeaked.

"I think you know what, angel. Let me give you me you a little taste." Edward murmured, sliding down my body until his face was level with my shorts.

I let out a deep breath, laying back onto the bed, giving him permission to do what he wanted.

I trusted him. And I had a pretty good idea about what he was going to do.

Edward's hot lips ghosted over my inner thighs, making me squirm impatiently with need. His fingers worked my shorts and underwear down my legs, flinging them carelessly across the room before focusing back between my legs.

Without a word, his fingers dipped straight between my folds, not wasting any time, rubbing my clit gently while his tongue ran up my thigh.

_God… his fingers are magic. I swear. _

"O-Oh… please…" I whispered, my breath hitching.

"Damn you're so perfect." I heard him mumble.

I blushed at his words, but smiled, loving that he loved my body.

He moved his fingers from my clit, only to replace them with his warm tongue, making me gasp and buck my hips.

"Uhhh…" I groaned.

Edward's lips and tongue worked my clit, driving me insane. He was teasing me… and I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it.

"More… more… Edward, please." I gasped, reaching down to entwine my fingers through his hair, tugging at it in frustration.

I could feel him smirk against my over heated and wet skin, then suddenly his finger slipped inside me. All without stopping his tongue from it's frantic motions against my clit.

"Oh!" I gasped again.

"Okay?" He asked quietly, stilling his movements.

I nodded my head and whimpered, encouraging him to not stop.

_He better not stop… if he does I'll kill him. _

Thankfully, there would be no bloodshed tonight.

His finger picked up it's pace and his tongue swirled around me in firm, leisurely strokes. I was panting and moaning, tugging his hair and trying not to squish his head between my thighs.

Then he slid a second finger into me and started doing this twisting thing inside me with them that drove me fucking crazy.

"F-Fuck!" I panted as my back arched.

"That feel good, angel?" He mumbled against me.

"Y…yes…." I whimpered, unable to get anything else out.

His mouth and fingers showed me no mercy, licking, sucking and massaging me until I was sure he was trying to kill me by cunnilingus.

What a way to go.

After a few minutes of delicious torture, I could feel my orgasm coming, the heat and tingling pressure in my lower stomach and thighs tightening and building to a high.

"I-I'm gonna… gonna cum…." I whimpered.

This only drove him on; his fingers inside me working harder, doing all kinds of amazing things while he switched between circling my clit with his tongue and gently scraping his teeth against it.

"Oh… oh… yes… fuck! Edward!" I screamed out, clutching his hair in one hand and the blankets under me in the other.

Edward slowly pulled his fingers from me when I came down, his tongue licking over me soothingly.

When my body stopped shaking, he slid up my body and wrapped his arms around me.

"Now, do you think I don't want to make love with you?" He whispered into my ear. I could feel his cock pressing into my thigh through his jeans.

"I believe you now." I said to him tiredly.

He smiled and pressed hot, open mouth wet kisses along my jaw line.

We laid like that for a while; me wrapped up in his arms and snuggling into his chest while he kissed me all over.

"We need to continue packing." He said after a while.

I groaned, not wanting to get, but knew he was right. We where extremely behind now and still had to pack a few more bags and check out. I looked out the window and saw that it was completely dark now.

So I sat up and started looking around the now dark room for my underwear and shorts.

"Here." Edward said, getting up and picking up the items of clothing off the floor, handing them to me with a smug smirk.

Once I had them back on, I resumed my packing, trying to ignore the looks and grins Edward threw my way.

It wasn't an easy task.

But I got everything neatly packed away in suitcases and let Edward carry them out into the entryway and rang for a bellman to take them downstairs. He went through the place for a last sweep, making sure we had everything while I put my shoes on.

I was feeling a lot better, more confident… that is until I saw who was at the front desk.

"Oh no… it's her again." I whined as I saw that Gianna was at the front desk again.

"Who?" He asked.

"That girl at the front desk; Gianna. She's always drooling over you and it makes me wanna rip her eyes out." I mumbled.

Edward smiled and leaned down to put a little kiss on my lips.

"Don't worry, I got this." He said.

I gave him a curious look, but went along with him as he guided me over to her.

"Hello Mr. Cullen." She purred the second her greedy little eyes landed on him.

_I will not reach across this counter and pop her fake boobs with a pin. _

"We need to check out." He said brusquely, not even looking at her. He was looking at me, his eyes boring into mine and I could see a little twinkle in them.

When I glanced back at her, I noticed Gianna looking at me funny. Not in the usual way she looked at me, but almost like she was searching for something in my face. Her eyes narrowed for a moment and her head tilted. She must not have found it, because she went back to giving me an icy look and then going all dreamy eyed at Edward.

She handed him some papers which he promptly signed and slid across the desk at her.

"Thank you Jenna." Edward said. I cracked a smile and had to bite my lip to keep the giggles from erupting.

"It's _Gianna_." She said sourly.

"Really?" Edward asked.

"Yes." She said sharply.

"Huh." Was all Edward said before taking my hand and walking off.

I managed to hold my laughter in until we got to the car and I had to smother them against Edward's chest.

"Her face…" I giggled. Edward chuckled with me, leaning against the car.

"Come on, get inside." He said, opening the backdoor for me. I slid into the car and he followed.

The drive was quiet, with me tucked under his arm and playing with his fingers. I kept asking about where we were going, what the Villa looked like, how far away from the town we'd be… but he never let up. Insisting that he wanted to surprise me with it.

Whatever. I figured I'd let him have his fun.

We drove for about an hour before the driver slowly stopped the car and I couldn't help the excited little squeak that came out of my mouth.

The driver opened the car door and Edward stepped out, holding his hand out for me. I climbed out of the car gracefully and was going to say something to him, but it was completely forgotten when I caught sight of the very big house.

The entire outside of the building was nothing but white stone. One side of the house was rounded, with two narrow windows. There was a cobblestone pathway to the front deck, enclosed in one of those criss-cross fence things with the vines growing all over it.

It managed to give off a very classy and rich look, while at the same time looking like it was in the middle of the country and was nice and cozy.

I loved it.

"Wow. It's beautiful Edward." I said, my eyes not leaving the Villa.

"Really?" He asked, setting our bags on the deck.

"Of course. I should have known it would be more perfect than I was imagining. You have a tendency to do that." I said.

"Come on." He said, pulling me toward the house.

I let him guide me into the house and I couldn't help be feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the house; inside and out. The walls on the inside were made of the same white stone on the outside, the furniture was done in cream and earthy colors. They were odd pieces; a wicker bench seat covered in pillows sat on one wall, and on the other side of the room there was a white and tan couch that curved to fit the curve in the wall it was against. An oval wooden table was set in the center that was covered in some books and a vase of flowers. The floors were a light, sandy color of wood. And the ceiling was striped with wooden beams.

"Sorry, it's the furniture it came with, I never changed it." He apologized, motioning around the room.

"No… I like it. It's got a very… eclectic and beachy feeling to it." I assured him.

The windows were a decent size, long and narrow, but they were in groups of three to four of them all over the house and covered with sheer white curtains. And on the far side of the living room, there were double doors that I'm sure led out to somewhere interesting, but I didn't get a chance to investigate.

"There's four bedrooms and three bathrooms-"

"Wait." I interrupted. "_Four _bedrooms? I thought you just bought this for you."

"I did. We Cullen's' don't do anything half ass." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. No, that was just him trying to get the biggest, best toy.

I walked toward the kitchen, which was a thing of beauty. Light gray granite countertops, all the appliances were black, looking new and shiny, and there was a six burner stove.

I couldn't wait to cook in this kitchen.

"There's a cook, so if you don't want to deal with cooking, I can call him." Edward said.

"There's a cook?" I asked him disbelievingly.

"Ummm yeah… But he doesn't have to be here. I hired him when I first bought the place. You're well aware of my _issues _in the kitchen, I didn't want to starve or live on take-out for months." He explained, chuckling with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I want to cook. I like cooking, especially in a kitchen like this." I told him.

"Well then, I won't call the cook. But there will be housecleaners in once a week." He warned.

"I can clean Edward. We don't need housekeepers to come in here and clean our messes up." I said, bristling a little at having other people messing with my things. It was just this weird thing I had; I didn't like strange people seeing and touching my stuff. It was nothing personal.

"Bella, I'm not going to let the love of my life do the cleaning." Edward almost admonished.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he looked at me nervously.

"What are you trying to say, Edward?" I asked.

"I'm not trying to say anything. I just don't want you to run around the house like my maid." He said carefully.

"So, you think that by me cleaning a little, I'm like a maid?" I asked.

He opened his mouth and closed it quickly, seeming to think about his answer.

"No. I just… You know what, if you want to clean, you can do whatever you want." He said, trying to dig himself out of a hole.

"Good boy." I teased.

Edward narrowed his eyes at me and took a predatory step towards me.

"Do you like to make me squirm, little Bella?" He asked darkly, but I could see the sparkle in his eyes, telling me he was playing.

"I like to make you squirm in a lot of ways Mr. Cullen." I retorted suggestively.

Before I could blink, Edward had me in his arms and lifted me up over his shoulder, caveman style.

"Edward!" I squeaked.

He carried me through hallways, flipping on lights as he went, until he opened a door to what I assumed was the master bedroom.

I didn't have a chance to look around, because Edward dropped me lightly on the big bed, my head hitting a pillow. He crawled up my body slowly, a smirk on his lips, until we were face to face. He placed a reassuring kiss on my lips and brushed my hair away from my face.

This was the first time since Demitri that Edward had been on top of me, pinning me down. Every sexual thing we've done, I've either been on top or he hasn't covered me all the way. I felt a little tense, the memory of Demitri's heavy weight and sweaty skin on top of me, but pushed it away, reminding myself that this was Edward.

He was searching my face carefully and I leaned up to kiss him again.

"I'm okay." I whispered.

"Tell me if you get uncomfortable." He murmured, slowly kissing my neck.

I relaxed into the bed, wrapped up in Edward and his kisses.

"You know," He said after a couple minutes. "it's really not nice to tease me like that."

I knew he was referring to earlier and couldn't help but giggle, but I tried to smother it in his shoulder.

"Oh! You think it's funny to watch me stumble over my words and make a fool out myself?" He asked, laughing himself.

I shook my head and kept giggling.

"You little liar." Edward laughed and nipped sharply at my shoulder.

He froze over me, his mouth quickly moving away from my shoulder and glanced up at me. I clenched my eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to calm down from the fear that tingled up my spine.

"I'm sorry, angel." Edward apologized seriously.

I slowly let out a breath. "It's alright. Just… just don't do something like that again, please. Don't bite me… At least not for a while." I said.

He nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, moving to get off me. "See, this is why I was trying to wait."

Edward pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed, his back to me and his head in his hands. I just laid there in the middle of the bed, staring up at the ceiling and taking a few more calming breathes.

"Can I call Rose?" I asked suddenly, a thought occurring to me.

He looked back at me strangely, but handed me his cell phone anyway.

"Of course you can. She's listed under her name." He said, standing up. "I'll leave you alone."

I watched as he walked out, closing the door behind him and a feeling of guilt washed over me. It wasn't just me that had to deal with this; Edward had to put up with me. He was trying really hard and was being incredibly understanding and gentle. And then I panic over something little and end up pushing him away.

I pulled up Rose's number and called her, listening to it ring. I wondered what time it was there and began to worry that it was like three o'clock in the morning over there, but then she answered.

"What do you want Edward?" Rose asked, sounding extremely bored.

"Rose, it's Bella." I said.

"Bella! Is there something wrong?" She asked, perking up immediately.

"No, there's nothing wrong… well, nothing super big. But I need your advise about something." I said.

"What do you need, sweetie?" She asked.

"I don't really know how to explain this. Ummm… I want to move forward with Edward… sexually. And most of everything that we've done so far has been great." I started slowly, thinking about this.

"But." Rose interjected.

"But… sometimes, when he does the littlest things, like laying on top of me or uhhh… like nipping my neck or shoulders, it reminds me of Demitri." I explain, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Oh." Rose said softly.

"Yeah." I mumbled, not knowing what else to say to her.

"Well, maybe you're not ready yet." She said.

"No. I feel ready, it's just when he does one of those little things. He doesn't even mean to do them, and something like laying over me is normal. It shouldn't bother me, but it does." I told her. "And I feel bad. He's trying and he's being really good, but I just freak out sometimes."

"Okay, first of all; you shouldn't feel bad. Edward gets what you're going through and he - at least he better - be understanding and not pushy. Is he pushing you?" She asked seriously.

"No! He's not pushing me to do anything! It's me that wants to do more." I said.

"Good. If he ever does try to push you, kick him in his balls and tell me so I can finish the job." Rose insisted, being her usual overprotective self.

I loved that.

"I promise, Rose. Now can we get back to the problem at hand?" I said, anxious to get to the root of my problems and find the solution.

"Yes, sorry. The only suggestion I have is to do things your way, at your pace, so you're in control the whole time. Sit down and talk to Edward about the things that set you off and I'm sure that he'll get it and won't do those things. Communicate with each other. Edward is probably worrying like crazy about you, over thinking everything that he does, wondering if something's okay or if he'll do something wrong. You need to put both your fears and concerns out there in the open and solve them." She told me.

I sat there, awed by Rosalie's words, realizing that she was absolutely correct.

"That's… really good." I said to her.

"Well, I'm just amazing like that." She laughed. "But seriously, just talk to him about it. And make sure that you're in control and comfortable."

"Thank you Rose." I whispered.

"You're welcome Bella. Now, go talk to the jackass." Rose said, giggling before hanging up.

I took her advise and went in search of Edward, finally finding him in the kitchen, sitting on the countertop.

_Why is this boy always in the kitchen? It's just not safe. _

"Hey." He whispered when he sees me.

"Edward, it's not you." I said, getting into it right away. "There are just a couple things that make me a little tense and remind me. And I don't want to stop trying just because I have a bad reaction a couple times."

He sighed and motioned for me to come to him. I moved until I was standing between his legs and he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair.

"We won't stop trying, I promise. But I just worry that I'll do something that will make you breakdown again. I remember what you looked like right after he attacked you. You were shaking and scared, bruised and bloody. You barely let me touch you and I had to talk you into letting me see your injuries. You would jump and flinch every time I touched you. And then all the nightmares you would have… you just got over those. I don't want to be the reason you go back to that." He said softly against my hair, rubbing my back the whole time.

I couldn't help when my eyes welled up with tears and I sniffled unattractively into his shirt. We just stayed there for a few minutes, neither of us wanting to move.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Edward and I climbed into bed, curling up with each other in our pajamas, doing nothing more sexual than kissing. Edward made sure his hands didn't wander too much, not wanting to get too worked up.

I slept through the night, still without anymore nightmares.

The whole next day was exploring the house and laying around with Edward. The theme of white stone and cream and earthy tones carried throughout the house. It was obvious that Edward hadn't bothered to put any of his personal touches on it.

The inside of the villa was amazing, but the outside took my breath away and made me never want to go back inside. The patio was huge, fitting an outdoor grill and table for six outside, a little garden area off to the side with a fire pit. But the most prominent feature was the biggest freaking pool I've ever seen. It took up half the space and looked like it feel off into the ocean below.

That's where we currently were; lounging in the pool, swimming around and playing with Edward. It was around six o'clock and just starting to get dark. I was floating around Edward, watching in amusement as he gawked at me, looking away every time he saw that I'd caught him.

"Do you want to go out to a club?" Edward asked me suddenly.

_A club? The last club I went to, I was kidnapped. _

"I uhhh… what kind of club?" I asked.

"Just a regular club, nothing special. I thought you might like to go out someplace that wasn't a stuffy five star restaurant and have some fun, get a few drinks, do some dancing." He said as he splashed some water over my legs.

"Edward… I don't know." I said.

"Why not?" He asked, looking at me curiously.

I don't think I've ever told him where I was kidnapped, just that I was.

"I was kidnapped at a club." I said simply and quietly.

Understanding then guilt crossed his face, making him look down at the water.

"Oh." He choked out.

I bit my lip, looking at him.

I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I'd be with Edward, I knew he wouldn't let anything happed to me. And it might be fun…

"But, I still want to give it a try." I said to him.

"We don't have t-"

"I want to go." I cut him off. "You won't let anything happen to me and I do want to go out." I said, turning on the puppy dog eyes and pouty lip.

"Okay." He agreed. "But at anytime that you want to leave, we'll be out of there in under a minute, alright?"

I nodded my head and jumped on him, taking him by surprise and making us both fall back into the water with a splash.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~SIL~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

I have no idea what you wear out to a club.

Not really. That one time with Jessica, I didn't really care what I looked like, so I had just thrown on some shorts and pretty shirt.

But this was different.

I was going out with Edward. And I knew what went on between couples in clubs. There was a lot of dancing, bumping and grinding, and over all sexual tension.

I needed to look hot for this. And so far, I've been failing. I've tried on skin tight jeans, short shorts, low cut tops, everything. I didn't have many dresses other than lazy, lounge around the house and beach dresses.

Those won't work for clubs.

So, I was about to have a breakdown, standing in nothing but my underwear in the middle of the bedroom when Edward came strutting in.

He didn't help.

Edward looked fucking amazing. Wearing black, holey jeans that hugged him very nicely, with a dark grey v-neck shirt, with the long sleeves scrunched up to his elbows.

Damn.

"Baby, don't stress yourself out about what to wear." He said, snaking one of his arms around my bare waist.

"But I don't know what to wear!" I groaned, throwing a shirt I was holding onto the bed.

"I know. That's why I bought something for you." He said into my ear.

Edward reached the arm not on my waist around me until there was a large pink box in front of me.

I took it from him and slowly opened it, wondering how much more money he'd gone and spent on me.

Pulling out what seemed to be a dress and throwing the box onto the bed, before taking a better look at it.

It was a dress alright. A very pretty one. It was a black metallic material, with a one shoulder neckline and sleeve all the way down the wrist, which was done in a metallic lace material. It was short, without being too short and slutty looking, coming down a little below mid-thigh.

I loved it.

I told this to Edward and he grinned at me. "I also got some shoes to go with it. I didn't know if you had any you liked that would go with it." He said, pointing to a black shoebox sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.

How did that get there?

Edward handed me the shoebox and my eyes got wide at the black leather and lace bootie heels.

"Wow." I said, taking them out of the box.

"Do you like those, too? The lady said they were the best she could find that would go with the dress." He said.

"Did you have someone go out and get these for you?" I asked in disbelief.

"Kind of. I called the store and told the sales woman what I wanted and she picked out the shoes and dress, which I had someone delver here." Edward explained, like it was so freaking simple.

"Huh. Well, thank you. I'll just go try this one now." I smiled, holding up the dress and walking into the bathroom.

I'd already done my hair and little make-up, deciding to just let it go natural, remembering that Alice said something about it looking the best that way. So I had dark brown curls hanging over my shoulders, down to my waist. I put on a little mascara and eye shadow, with some light pink lip-gloss. Nothing too flashy.

I carefully slipped into the dress, noting that it was the perfect size.

Looking in the mirror, I had to do a double take.

_I have curves!_

The dress hugged my body, making my waist look tiny and my hips flare out, going down to long, shapely legs. The side that didn't have a shoulder and sleeve scooped down to just above my breast, making it so it didn't show any cleavage. Plus, it served to cover up the faint little bite marks that had almost healed on the one side. The dress was revealing, without revealing too much. It showed off things like my shoulders and arms and legs, not my breasts and stomach or my butt.

I fastened my locket around my neck, straightening it to rest on the middle of my chest, right above the neckline of the dress.

I'd brought the shoes in with me, so I slipped those on, bending down to buckle them and stood back up to check if they really did go with the dress.

They did, of course.

Walking out of the bathroom, I thoroughly enjoyed the look on Edward's face when he saw me. I was afraid his jaw was going to fall off his face.

"You look way too good to go out in public." He growled playfully.

I grinned, walking up to him and wrapping my arms around his neck, bringing him down to me and planting a kiss on his lips.

"I'm glad… you like it." I said between kisses.

He pulled away and handed me a small black sequin clutch.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"It's just got a few things you might need; makeup and other girly stuff. It's not important." He said, waving it off.

"Okay, thanks." I said, tucking it under my arm.

"No problem. Come on, let's go." Edward said, leading me through the house until we came upon the garage.

There was a gray sports car parked in here. Never noticed that before.

"Has this been in here all along?" I asked as I slid into the passenger seat.

"Yes. I made sure it was here before we even moved in." Edward said and shut the door. I watched him walk around the car and get into the car, starting it up so it rumbled.

"What kind of car is this?" I asked, running my fingers over the dashboard.

"An Aston Martin Vanquish." He replied, not taking his eyes off the road.

I'd heard of this kind of car, I just didn't recognize it right away because I'm not that great with cars, to be honest.

After a while in silence, Edward reached a hand over and took one of mine, squeezing it gently and rubbing his thumb over the back.

"Remember, if you want to leave, just say the word." He reminded me.

I nodded and muttered a _yes_, staring down at our entwined hands.

"I'll be fine Edward, it's just a bad memory." I said softly.

He glanced over at me warily, but didn't say anything else about it.

Edward put some music on to fill the silence, driving a bit faster than I'm sure he should be. I ignored that, looking out the window at all the lights illuminating the city. We got to the club in record time and I immediately saw the difference between this club and the one I'd got to with Jessica.

The one with Jessica had been in what I guess would be considered the bad side of town. That had been my first mistake, I'm sure. It had been all dark and a big pink neon sign displaying the name, without any bouncers outside the door.

This club was way different. People, very nice looking people, were lined up outside, almost reaching around the corner. There was a blue neon sign on this one, but it was done in better taste and wasn't so obnoxious. There were two large men in suits standing outside the door, one holding a list and the other was raking his eyes over the people in the line.

The club was obviously a bit higher class than the last one I went to.

"Ready, angel?" Edward asked, kissing the back of my hand.

"Yeah." I breathed out, a little excited despite my past experiences.

He grinned and got out of the car, walking around to open my door and help me out. It wasn't easy climbing out of a sports car in heels and a short dress without flashing your cooter.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and walked with me straight to the door.

I quirked an eyebrow, wondering why we weren't going to the back of the line. I should have known better.

Edward walked right up to the bouncer with the list and gave his name. I watched as his eyes scanned the list, obviously finding Edward's name and lifted the red rope for us, motioning us inside with a polite smile.

I just shook my head as Edward gave me a look that clearly said he was proud his name got us special privileges. But I had to wonder… Why did Edward's name hold so much weight?

The club was packed with people.

A long bar lined the right wall, several bartenders behind it working to get drinks to everyone. The dance floor took up the entire expanse of the bottom level, with only a few tables and booths in the very back and a DJ booth surrounded by different colored lights.

There were two silver sets of staircases on either sides of the room that led up to the top floor. Edward was leading me up one of them now.

"Edward, where are we going?" I asked above the music.

"I reserved our own table up here." He said back to me into my ear, guiding me across the floor to said table. It was more like a half-circle booth, looking out to the dance floor.

Edward and I sat down and a woman came out of no where, asking what we wanted to drink.

"What would you like, Bella?" He asked me.

I bit my lip, thinking about it. I haven't had much alcohol in my life, except for occasional wine with Edward at dinner, and beer and tequila with Jessica at the last club.

Something told me neither beer nor tequila would be acceptable right now.

"I don't know, surprise me." I said, trying to cover up the fact that I didn't know what to get.

I'm sure Edward saw right through me, because he gave me a smile before turning back to the woman.

"I'll have a rum and coke, and my beautiful lady here will have a strawberry daiquiri." He told her, unintentionally charming her panties off.

She was a little flushed and bright eyed, but managed to write down the drinks and walk off with most of her dignity.

"You know, something tells me that that's not usually how getting drinks at clubs works." I said to him.

"No, it's not." Was all he said, smirking at me. "Would you like to dance?" He said before I could say anything else about it.

"But our drinks aren't even here yet." I protested.

"It's okay, they'll be here when we get back." He assured me.

I took his offered hand and let him lead me down to the dance floor, pulling me close against his chest as we worked our way through all the moving, sweaty bodies dancing in all kinds of different ways.

When we finally reached a spot, Edward turned me around gently so I was facing him and pulled me back to his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist and hips. I practically melted into him and reached up to snake my arms around his neck, letting him start to move us, letting him take the lead.

Our hips ground against each other to the beat of the music, something harsh and fast, but I wasn't paying much attention to it, focusing on Edward and the way he was making our bodies move together. It was almost like sex.

"You really do look beautiful." Edward whispered hotly, kissing the spot right under my ear.

I moaned and shivered, grinding my hips into his in response. I felt his erection against my hip and instead of feeling embarrassed about it, I was turned on, grinding myself against him over and over again, making him moan and grip me tighter.

He kissed down my jaw, his fingers digging into my hips and working me against him. I ran my fingers over his shoulders, raking my fingers up his neck and into his hair, pulling on it to bring his mouth to mine.

We continued on like this for what felt like forever, song over song, grinding and moving against each other until we broke out into a sweat. We kissed and licked… panting and moaning.

I never knew dancing could be such a turn on.

When another song started, Edward pulled away slightly, panting into my ear.

"Do you want to go back up and get our drinks?" He asked breathlessly.

I nodded, breathing heavily myself. I needed something to drink before I either passed out or jumped Edward right on the floor.

Once we were back at out table on the second floor, I saw that our drinks were indeed waiting for us, still fresh and cold. I sipped my drink at first, wary of what it would taste like, and was happy that I actually liked it. Edward drank his rum and coke slowly, and I watched as his adam's apple bobbed up and down.

_Why the hell was that sexy?_

"Are you enjoying yourself, angel?" He asked, putting down his now half empty glass.

I blushed, knowing he was partly referring to how we'd been on the dance floor.

"Yes, I'm having quite a bit of fun." I said, trying to be seductive while leaning back into the booth and crossing my legs. I saw Edward's eyes dart down to my legs the second I moved them.

My dress had ridden up to the top of my thighs and I'd been sweating heavily, so my legs had a shine to them.

Before I knew it, Edward's fingertips were gliding up the top of my right leg. When they reached the edge of my dress, he traced over it to my inner thigh, almost touching my underwear, and then traveled back down my leg to my knee.

I moaned lightly and scooted forward in my seat, trying to get his fingers back up my leg.

"What do you want me to do, Bella?" He asked huskily in my ear, his warm breath washing over my neck.

"I… I want you to put your… fingers inside me." I breathed out, pushing the embarrassment aside and letting my lust take over.

"As you wish my angel." He murmured, running his fingers back up my thigh and brushing over my underwear.

I let my eyes close as his fingers worked their magic; sliding my underwear aside under my dress and teasingly running up and down my slit. My hand shot up to grip his shoulder, anchoring myself to something while I bit my lip to keep from making too much noise. The music was pretty loud and I'm sure it could drown out my moans, but I wanted to be sure. And we were in a secluded enough booth that no one that walked by would notice what we were really doing.

Edward's lips were kissing my face, switching from gentle little pecks to lingering warm kisses against my jaw and lips.

I panted, pressing my hips toward his hand as his fingers continued to do nothing but tease me.

"Edward…" I complained.

"Be patient, angel." He responded, slowly letting his middle finger between my folds.

His finger touched every part of me except for the part I wanted him to touch the most.

Finally… _finally_… he rubbed over my clit with his thumb, making me jerk against him. He rubbed me in rhythm with the music, driving me crazy when it would slow down, then speed back up, the slow down again for half the song.

I was practically humping his hand when he slid a finger into me, slowly and carefully, until he was up to his knuckle.

He kept up his pace to the music both to my clit and inside me, driving me into an insane, needy, panting mess.

"Fuck angel… you're so wet. Did you like our little dance?" He whispered.

"Y-yes." I panted.

My hand clamped around his arm, keeping him where he was.

_I wasn't taking any chances. _

I only lasted another minute before I came, gasping and trying to whisper his name. Luckily, he kissed me, taking in my louder sounds in his mouth.

I relaxed into the booth seat, trying to catch my breath as Edward straightened my clothes for me and continued to kiss me, mumbling _'I love you'_s.

"That was even better than the dancing." I muttered with a laugh.

After I regained some composure, I took some more drinks of my strawberry daiquiri, attempting to cool off.

"Edward! What are you doing here?" A man called from a few yards away.

I blushed and looked away from the man, looking like I was watching the dance floor.

_Had he seen what Edward and I had been doing only minutes ago? _

But then I noticed something odd.

Edward had yet to respond to the man… didn't greet him in any way.

My head snapped back to Edward, to see him practically glaring at the man that was walking toward us.

The man was tall, blonde and muscular looking. At first I was afraid it was James, but as he came closer, I realized that it wasn't.

"Hello Alistair." Edward greeted him coolly, cracking a smile. I could tell it was fake.

This worried me. If this man was someone that Edward was clearly not comfortable or friendly with, then who was he?

"Oh come on Edward, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Alistair asked, taking a drink of the beer in his hand.

His eyes roamed over me, studying me. His gaze didn't make me feel uncomfortable like James' had, but I could tell he wasn't going to be my BFF anytime soon.

"Alistair, you and I have never been friends." Edward said, bringing my attention back to him.

"Who this beautiful creature?" He asked, nodding toward me and ignoring Edward's statement.

"None of your business." Edward said brusquely. He stared Alistair down, putting a protective arm around me.

"I was just curious. I didn't mean anything by it." He said, putting his hands up in surrender. "But, I am interested as to what you're doing here."

"I'm on a little vacation." Was all Edward said to him.

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Alistair asked, putting his hand on his chest, feigning hurt.

"What do you want, Alistair?" Edward demanded.

"I just saw you and came over to say hello. Wanted to talk to you about… some things." He said, looking at me before he trailed off.

"Well, you've said hello, and there will be no talking about those things." Edward said cryptically.

I frowned, not liking not knowing what was going on, but held my tongue.

"Your pretty little lady friend here looks interested." He said, nodding toward me.

For the first time since Alistair had come over, Edward glanced over at me. I tried to wipe my face of any emotion, but he caught it.

"Angel, why don't you go to the restroom?" He asked, giving me a look that said I was not to question him or object.

Normally, I would have given him my dirtiest look for ordering to go do something like that. But I could practically choke on the tension between the two men, and I noticed that he didn't use my name when addressing me; he used his term of endearment for me.

Which told me he didn't want Alistair to know my name.

So I did as Edward asked and nodded, letting him slide out of the booth so I could get up. I made sure my dress was covering everything and the clutch was in my hand before getting up, brushing past Edward.

"Wait a few minutes in there, angel." He whispered to me as I past.

I gave a little nod but didn't say anything to him, just kept on walking to the staircase. I waded through the people, still shaky from the orgasm I just had a few minutes ago and just overall not too good in heels.

I finally reached the restrooms and I saw that there wasn't much of a line, because whoever built this club had the foresight to put in multiple bathrooms. I knew most clubs and bars only had one bathroom for men and women each, making the wait excruciatingly long.

My eyes couldn't help but wander up to the second floor, trying to see Edward and Alistair. I couldn't see them, but I did catch a glimpse of what appeared to be Alistair's wild blonde hair.

When it was my turn in the bathroom, I did as Edward said, taking my time, standing in front of the mirror to check my hair and make-up. I did everything I could, but I was starting to get odd looks from the other girls that came in and out in the time was in there.

Suddenly, there was a shrill ringing sound coming from somewhere in the bathroom.

It was just a cell phone.

But when none of the other girls around me moved to answer a phone, I opened my clutch.

Sure enough, a black Droid was sitting inside, lighting up like a freaking Christmas tree and ringing loudly.

I dug it out and looked at the screen.

_Jasper. _

Why was Jasper calling me on a phone I didn't even know I had?

I quickly hit the green button and put it to my ear.

"Jasper?" I asked warily.

"Oh thank Jesus! Bella, run. I need you to run. Get out of that club right now!" He yelled through the phone.

I didn't have to think twice. Like with Edward, I had learned a while ago to listen to Jasper, no matter what.

"Okay." I gasped into the phone, turning on my heel and running out of the bathroom.

I got a few strange looks, but I didn't care, I just did what Jasper said and ran. Heels weren't helping.

I took a chance to look back up to the second floor and I could no longer see Alistair's blonde hair.

Edward.

"Jasper, where's Edward?" I asked panicking, but kept running through the club. I reached the door and ran through, past the bouncers.

"Don't worry about Edward, just keep running to the car!" He rushed out.

Jasper was clearly panicking as much, if not more than I was. That's not good.

"I don't have a key!" I cried into the phone, collapsing against the side of the Aston.

"Shit! I thought Edward would have given you a key! Fucking idiot. Okay, hide. Hide somewhere, anywhere." He ordered.

I scanned the area around me, trying to find a good hiding place. The best thing I could see was an alley a few yards away. So I ran to it, running through puddles and practically diving behind a trash bin.

"Bella, where are you hiding?" Jasper asked.

"I'm in an alley a couple blocks from the club, behind a trash bin." I whispered to him.

"Good, not the best, but I understand there's probably not a lot to choose from. I need you to be quiet and don't move until I say, okay?" He said softly, trying to calm me down.

"Okay." I whispered.

I kept the phone against my ear, but didn't say another word, listening for someone of something.

"Bella, don't say anything, just listen to me. That man in the club, Alistair, he's not good. Edward and I use to work with him a few years ago and it just wasn't doing good stuff. We were fucked up. Edward didn't expect him to be in Greece, hell he probably didn't expect the son of a bitch to still be alive, but somehow he is, on both accounts. He's also not alone. Edward sent me a message, telling me to call you and get you out of there, because Alistair made it pretty fucking clear that he'd sent someone after you in the club. We don't know what he wants, but we're not taking any chances." Jasper told me, sounding extremely nervous and rattled.

I wanted to ask so many questions.

What kind of bad work did Edward and Jasper do with that man? Where was Edward now? Was he in danger, just like I was? If this man did catch me, what would they do to me? Was Alistair simply curious, or jealous of Edward over something? Did he want something from Edward and thought I would make a good bartering chip? Or did he simply want to mess with Edward and I?

But I didn't dare make a sound.

I was having all sorts of flashbacks and déjà vu feelings. I was never going near a club again.

"Isabella…" A voice called out from the entrance to the alley.

"Jasper." I whimpered into the phone, unable to help myself.

"Shhh… Sugar … shhh…" Jasper whispered through the phone in that southern accent I loved.

I listened as heavy footsteps echoed through the alley, coming closer and closer to me.

"Bella, that man is probably going to find you and take you. Don't struggle, he'll only hurt you more. Do what he says. If it makes sure that you're kept alive, do it. I will find you, if it's the last thing I do, I will find you." Jasper whispered to me strongly.

I noticed that he didn't say that _Edward _would find me. Or even _him and Edward_.

Just Jasper.

The remaining color drained from my face as I imagined all the possibilities of Edward not even being alive.

Was the man that I love… dead?

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn't notice the large man sneaking up on me and coming to stand right in front of me.

"There you are." He growled.

I screamed, I couldn't help it, as he reached down and grabbed me, pulling me up in one swoop. His hand came over my mouth, with a rag pressed to my mouth and nose. Every fiber of my being was telling me to fight, but Jasper's words came back into my head.

_Don't struggle._

So I tried to make my body as limp as possible. It wasn't hard, considering my vision was starting to blur and I couldn't think straight.

The last thing I heard was Jasper yelling curse words and saying they would find me through the phone before I dropped it and everything around me went black.


	25. Chapter 25

**WARNING: There is a scene of rape in this chapter. I have carefully marked where it begins and where it ends, so you can skip over it if you want to.**

* * *

**BPOV**

Something brushed against my face.

At first I thought it was Edward, so I snuggled into it, smiling contently. Then I heard laughing that clearly wasn't Edward.

My eyes popped open and I sat up abruptly, making myself dizzy and unable to see what was around me. I put a hand to my head, trying to press out the pounding inside it and squinted around at the room.

I saw what was brushing against my face. Or who.

There was a woman sitting on the floor beside me with straight light brown hair, wearing jeans and a black vest. She swinging a bright pink feather boa around her head. Every time it would come around, it would brush past my face.

What the fuck?

"She's awake!" The odd woman called, not taking her eyes off me or stopping her feather boa.

I didn't know what to do.

Where the hell am I? Who is this strange woman? What happened? Where's Edward?

I groaned, everything making my head pound harder.

"Well, well, well… the princess is awake." A familiar taunting voice said, drawing my attention to a doorway.

_Alistair. _

His deceivingly charming smirk was plastered across his face and his blonde hair just as messy as it had been earlier.

"You!" I shouted at him, rage coursing through my body. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Ohhh… You're a feisty one. I can see why Edward likes you." He remarked, propping his hip against the doorframe.

My chest seized up at the mention of Edward. Where was he? Is he even alive? Surely Edward wouldn't have let Alistair out of that club alive had he known that Alistair had taken me.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Edward's unavailable." Was all he said, pushing off the doorframe and walking toward me. "We have a lot to talk about, Isabella."

"How do you know my name?" I asked, remembering that Edward had made it a point not to say my name in front of this man.

"I know a lot about you. I know that your name's Isabella Swan. I know that you're eighteen… Lucky, lucky Eddie." He paused, raising his eyebrows up and down in a suggest manner. "And I know that your father is _Chief _Charles Swan."

There.

"What does my father have to do with any of this?" I asked. But I knew, deep down. Alistair had made a point of putting the title 'Chief' before my dad's name and from what Jasper had told me, this man wasn't good… at all. I wasn't stupid, I knew there was a connection in there somewhere. I just needed to find it.

Alistair sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me into his side roughly. His fingers digging into my shoulder painfully, making me wince and squirm away from him, but I wasn't going anywhere.

"Your father did something to me and my business, that I'm still holding a bit of a grudge over. See, daddy dearest helped lead the police investigation against my drug business. He destroyed my business and put many of my friends in prison. My own brother went to prison because of it. I did some digging on old Chief Swan and found out a lot of things, but nothing I could get him with. Until… I spotted his daughter getting finger fucked by one of my old associates. I couldn't believe my luck." He explained, snickering at my red face when he mentioned what Edward and I been doing.

"What do you want from my father?" I mumbled.

"Hmmm… That's the big question, isn't it? I could ask for just about anything if I threatened your life. I could get him to pay ransom, I could get him to come in himself - I'm sure we could work out a trade. I could get him to publicly announce something that would ruin his career and life - whether it was true or not. And so many other things. Thankfully I've got some time to decide." Alistair said, grinning widely, an expression that normally would have made him look friendly, but all I saw the menacing and slightly insane look to it.

I had to keep taking deep breathes in order to keep from shaking. I didn't want to show this man weakness. I knew he'd use I against me, in some way.

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked. Not knowing was killing me inside.

"You will be kept here, in this room, until I get what I want." He said simply, squeezing me impossibly tighter to him.

_Alright… but what's he going to do to me in this room? _

I looked around me fully for the first time. The room was pretty bare; a small bed that Alistair and I were currently sitting on, a chair in the corner, a rug covered only part of the floor, and a small plastic table that held one of the smallest TV's I've ever seen. There were no windows, the walls were white, but something weird I noticed was that the exposed part of the floor was made of cement.

The first thing popped into my mind was _basement_.

Would Alistair bring me to his house and keep me in own basement? Something told me that he's smarter than that, unfortunately.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Do you honestly think I'm about to tell you that?" He asked, giving me a look out of the corner of his eye.

I huffed and tried to pull away from him again, but his grip was too strong.

"If you're going to torture me or something, just get on with it!" I spat at him.

The girl still in the room actually laughed at me, flinging that damn pink boa around her neck. Is she insane?

"Oh no… I'm not going to hurt you, princess… much. Although, the way Edward treated me back at the club makes me want to get a little revenge on him. But, we'll save that for later. We've got a while to play." Alistair said creepily. I couldn't resist the shudder than ran through me and he chuckled.

"Where's Edward?" I tried again.

I wasn't expecting him to push me forward, face first off the bed and onto the cement floor. I caught myself on my hands, jarring my arms.

"What the hell is it with _Edward_?" Alistair shouted, standing up and walking around the room.

I stayed where I was, afraid that if I moved he'd do something else to hurt me.

Jasper told me to do whatever it took to stay alive. If that meant kneeling on a cold floor for a few minutes, then I'd do it.

"She's pretty." The weird girl commented out of nowhere.

I glanced at her through my hair, seeing her looking at me with her head tilted, her hazel eyes boring into me.

Alistair ignored her, just kept pacing the room and muttering angrily. I kept my eyes on the girl though, really looking her. She was young, maybe as young as me. Her long brown hair was thin and lanky, her eyes were curious and slightly superior as she looked down her long nose at me. She was thin, her exposed legs like rails and even through the clothing, I could tell the rest of her was just as thin and boney.

I also noticed how her jaw kept twitching every twenty seconds or so. This brought my mind to some form of drug use. Having a cop as a father, you grew up knowing all the signs of drugs. Her skin wasn't pock marked or scabby, she actually had a nice complexion, so I crossed meth off my mental list of drugs.

My next guess would be cocaine. It would explain her being so skinny, her random, insane comments and twitching.

I have been kidnapped, am being kept by drug smugglers or whatever the hell Alistair called it, and I'm waiting for the borderline crazy man to figure out what he wants my father to do for my life.

Maybe I should just kill myself now.

I mean really, what are the chances of Jasper finding me before Alistair either rapes me or hands me off to my father or someone else? And then god knows what condition I'll be in. And then there's Edward. Did I really have the strength to live through being tortured, only to be 'saved' and then told that Edward's dead?

No. I don't think I could do that.

I tried not thinking about it, but the silence in the room did nothing to help.

"It's not just about my father, is it?" I started quietly. "You wanted to get one over on Edward."

"He always did like the pretty ones with a bit of brains." Alistair quipped. "My main goal here is Chief Swan, but yes, seeing the look on Edward's face when I told him that I had my men going after you was immensely satisfying. And so were his brains spattered all over the pavement when I shot him in the head."

"No!" I screamed, choking on the sob that tore through my throat.

I saw red. Through my tears and absolute fury, there was nothing but _him_. Standing there, gloating down at me with a smug look on his face.

I snapped, Jasper's words of caution flying out of my head as I lunged at Alistair, wrapping my hands around his neck, making him fall backwards onto the ground, trying with all I had to choke the life out of him.

He gasped a few times, clutching at my wrists. My nails dug into his skin, drawing blood. I wasn't letting go so easily.

It was only a few seconds before he got a good grip and threw me off to the side. But I took a lot of skin and blood with me.

"Fucking bitch!" He yelled, holding his neck.

My body was shuddering from both the harsh breaths I was forcing in and out of my chest and the rage coursing through my body.

_Edward can't be… not like that… no… _

I barely paid attention to him getting up and stomping off to the door. I faintly heard him shouting something, but I blocked it out.

Tears ran down my face, sobs bursting from my throat.

_Edward… not Edward… _

I let out a scream and curled into myself, tears falling onto the floor, forming small puddles.

Heavy footsteps, different from Alistair's echoed through the room, but I still didn't look up.

I probably should have.

My hair was yanked back painfully and a hand cracked against my cheek, making pain explode inside my head.

Whoever was holding onto my hair let me go. I expected them to go away, but instead received several sharp kicks to my ribs and stomach.

By the time he was finished, I was gasping and wheezing, curled into a ball trying to protect myself. Everything from my waist up was on fire.

I pressed my cheek against the cold floor, trying to ease the burn in it.

The man didn't say anything, just walked off the way he came in.

I didn't dare move, I couldn't move, so I huddled in a ball and let the pain wash over me.

Alistair walked back in a while later and kneeled down next to me.

"If you ever try something like again, you'll be wishing for this." He hissed into my face.

"You can't… kill me…" I mumbled painfully. My entire body felt like I'd gone through a meat grinder.

"I just need to keep you alive. That doesn't mean I can't punish you if I want." Alistair growled.

He grabbed my arm roughly, making me cry out, and dragged me back onto the bed.

The first thing that ran through my mind was that he was about to rape me, but all he did was pull a chain over that was connected to the wall and chained my wrists together in metal cuffs. The chain wasn't very long, maybe three feet, so I was confined to the bed.

Alistair backed away from me to stand next to the girl that was still sitting on the ground, acting like she didn't just see that guy beat the shit out of me.

"Isabella, this is my girlfriend, Bree. You'll be seeing a lot of her. Think of her as your jailor. She'll keep you company in here whenever I ask, she'll bring you your food and water, and she's pretty much got free rein to do anything she wants, short of killing you. Enjoy." With that, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

My eyes slid over to Bree, she was still staring at me and looked somewhat passive and bored. I couldn't tell if she'd stay like that or if she would snap and do something.

That's the most dangerous thing.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Bree came in and out of the room at various times, spending hours inside with me and then leaving, she could be gone for just as long if not longer.

I got fed twice a day, Bree brining me plates of bland food, but I couldn't complain. The only time I was unchained was when Alistair would come in and walk me to the restroom down a hallway, making Bree go into the bathroom with me while he stood outside and waited. Then he'd take me back to the room and chain me back up on the bed.

At least I could be thankful that I had something semi soft to sit on, not the cold cement ground. I still had my black dress and it was getting really uncomfortable to be in all the time. I had to keep pulling the hem down to cover my thighs, which was driving me insane.

My best guess was that I'd been here about eleven days. Eleven days of being in a room with some crazy, drugged out girl. Eleven days of Alistair coming in here and taunting me with my father and Edward. Eleven days of being chained to a damn wall.

It took everything inside of me not to just break down. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. So every night I took the opportunity to cry, about everything. About being here, about all the things they did to me… and most of all, about Edward.

It killed me a little inside each time I thought his name. I've cried myself to sleep over him every single night that I've been here.

If I could, I'd go back and leave him that first day. Because it would mean that he would still be breathing… still walking around and spending days with his family on the island.

God… how I would give anything to be back on the island. Just for another day… I'd even take ten minutes.

But now, I was huddled up on the corner of the bed, leaning against the wall and drawing patterns on it with my fingers.

Bree was in here with me, sitting in the chair in the far corner, bent over a small mirror. She did this at least once a day in here. It only took me about twenty seconds on the first to understand what she was doing.

Sitting over there, snorting lines of coke off that mirror. I'd shudder every time I heard her suck up a line through a rolled up dollar bill.

I tensed when she snorted her first line and the three after that.

"You're no fun." She called over to me.

"Sorry." I mumbled, not really meaning it. Like I was going to abide by this girls idea of fun.

Bree came over to me and set the mirror with a line of white powder still on it on the bed beside me, looking down at me expectantly.

"Do it." She commanded, nodding toward the powder.

My eyes widened as I looked up at her.

Was she seriously trying to make me do a line of coke?

"Ummm… No thanks. I'm good." I said.

Bree reached out and grabbed my hair, pulling me until I was leaning over the mirror. I could barely see my reflection through all the white powder.

"Do it!" She repeated, louder and more forcefully, thrusting the dollar bill under my face.

I seriously thought about taking the mirror and throwing it against the wall. Not only would the coke be useless, but I would probably be able to kill Bree with a piece of the glass. But then what? Alistair was out there somewhere, not to mention numerous other people. I couldn't kill them all with a little piece of broken glass. And if I did it just to get rid of the cocaine, Bree would only get mad and Alistair would punish me, then bring in more coke for me to do.

Shit.

One line of cocaine won't kill me, right?

I slowly took the rolled up bill from her, bringing it up to my nose, trying to copy what I've seen her do. I lined it up with the coke, praying that this wouldn't do any damage or make me addicted to it.

I closed my eyes, braced myself and inhaled sharply and deeply, running down the whole three inch line.

My nose burned, my eyes watered and I fought the urge to sneeze. I tried not to show any disgust by it, afraid she'd make me do another one just to fuck with me.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Bree asked rhetorically, going back to her corner with the mirror in hand.

_Thank God. _

I curled back up into a safe little ball and rubbed at my nose when she wasn't looking. It itched and burned like hell.

After a while, I started to get jittery and more nervous than usual. My leg wouldn't stop shaking up and down and my eyes darted around the room. It felt kind of like I was on the mother of all caffeine rushes.

Alistair came in then, walking over to me and grabbing my chin, making me look up at him, but I avoided his eyes.

"How much did you give her?" He asked Bree over his shoulder.

"Just a line." She chirped.

He snorted and let go of my chin, walking over to Bree.

"Stand up." He commanded her. Without a second thought, Bree stood, only a few inches away from him.

Alistair gripped her face much like he had mine and kissed her roughly. I looked away, facing the wall. Feeling embarrassed for some reason and not wanting to watch my captors make-out.

I was nervous… They'd never done anything like this before. Hell, I don't think I'd ever seen him show affection to Bree, let alone kiss her in front of me.

Moans sounded through the room and my eyes widened.

_What the hell are they doing? _

I was afraid to turn around and see.

A minute or two later, the moans stopped and I heard the door shut. Slowly, I turned back around, expecting to see Bree sitting back in the chair, but instead I saw Alistair standing there, watching me intently.

_Uh oh…_

"You are such a pretty little girl… no wonder Edward kept you around." He muttered, walking toward me in a very unfriendly way.

**WARNING: SCENE BEGINS**

**.**

**.**

**.**

I slowly curled my legs under me, pressing as close to the wall as I could, as I watched his every step toward me. I noticed that he wasn't walking right and looked at his face. His eyes were red and bleary and he look unusually pale.

_He's high…_

"But that face can't be the only thing Edward liked." Alistair mumbled, licking his lips.

I frantically pulled on the chain around my wrists, but it was anchored to the wall and there was no way I could pull it out. I couldn't undo it from my wrists either. It was tight and there was a lock that required a key only Alistair had.

"Please don't." I whispered to him.

Of course, he ignored me and sat down on the bed, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me away from the wall to him.

_Oh God… Oh God… I think I'd take Demitri over this. _

I knew what he was going to do to me. He was going to rape me, and there was nothing I could do about it except scream until my voice went hoarse. At least with Demitri there had been a chance. I could fight him and not feel like I was completely helpless.

_Maybe it will be over quick._

Alistair grabbed my chin, and kissed me on the mouth, his tongue forcing my lips apart. I choked on a sob and tried to turn my head away, but he was too strong.

It was a sloppy, messy, disgusting kiss. Nothing like the warm, gentle kisses Edward had given me.

He pulled away and pushed me back onto the bed, crawling over me and pushing my legs apart, settling his hips between them. I brought my hands up to try to hit him, but he caught them and pinned them over my head.

"Get off me!" I yelled, thrashing around.

He didn't say a word or even acknowledge that I'd spoken. The hand not holding my hands up reached down between us and pushed up my dress. He started undoing his jeans and pushed them down enough for…

I shuddered and cried out, Jasper's words echoing in my head.

_Don't fight… I'll find you… just stay alive. _

Did I really want to be alive after this?

I turned my head, burying my face in my arm and sobbed. I felt his rough hand going up my leg and he shifted against me.

Suddenly I realized that he wasn't wearing a condom.

I wasn't too worried about getting pregnant; I'd gotten my last birth control shot before I went on the trip to Brazil. What I was worried about was STDs. God only knows what someone like Alistair could have.

Before I could utter a single word, he pushed himself inside me violently, making me scream out. He grunted against my shoulder as he thrust in and out of me, his breathing picking up after a few moments.

I screamed and cried, trying to push him off me with my feet, but it just wasn't working. His fingers dug painfully into my thigh, holding me to him.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine I wasn't here… that I was back on the island with Edward and we were on the beach… he was holding me, telling me how much he loved me.

Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes. I blocked most of it out, but whenever it would get particularly painful, I was drawn back into reality. He was grunting and sweating above me, mumbling things I didn't pay attention to.

_Edward… Edward… I want Edward. _

I sobbed louder, biting into my lip harshly, making it bleed.

Finally, he finished, freezing over me and cursing. He collapsed on top of me and was squishing me until he rolled off, sitting on the edge of the bed and doing up his pants.

My entire body was shaking from the force of my cries. Everything from my waist down burned and it felt like my insides had been torn apart. I slowly lowered my hands and pushed my dress back down to my thighs, covering myself up as much as possible.

"Stop fucking crying you drama queen." Alistair muttered.

"Fuck you." I growled at him.

"You just did princess. But we can always go for round two if you want me that bad." He sneered.

"Get out!" I screamed at him.

He gave me a look, but got up and sauntered to the door.

**SAFE TO READ**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"I'll be back." He called tauntingly behind his shoulder.

I watched him walk out and close the door, and fully broke down. Hysterically sobbing, I fought to breathe through my tears, my throat closing up and my chest constricting. Every move I made was painful, I couldn't fold my legs under myself anymore, so I just pressed myself against the wall, rocking back and forth.

I stayed like this all day. No one came back in to bother me, leaving me to drown in my misery.

But I couldn't be so lucky for long.

Alistair came back inside, making me flinch away.

"Awww… Don't look so upset, you might hurt my feelings." He feigned hurt.

I scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

"Isabella… we need to talk." He said seriously, using my name for the first time in days.

"About what?" I asked warily, my voice hoarse.

"Edward's family seems to be looking for you." He said calmly. I flinched when he said _that _name, but Alistair didn't care and continued on talking. "They landed in Greece a few days ago and are looking everywhere for you, but they just can't seem to get any kind of leads."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him.

_Was he trying to give me false hope or something?_

"I need to call your father and tell him about this little situation." Alistair said simply.

He hadn't called Charlie yet? What the hell's been going on the past two weeks then?

Without saying anything else, he started dialing numbers on the cell phone.

"Hello! Is this Charles Swan?" Alistair asked in that deceptively charming voice. The same voice he used that night in the club. I couldn't tell that he was a lunatic keeping someone prisoner.

"I have something that might interest you." Alistair carried on.

I clenched my eyes shut, hating that I had to listen to this.

"Well, I happen to have your daughter here. And if you don't give me what I want, I'm going to kill her." He said, his smile never breaking.

I gasped at his bluntness, but shouldn't have been surprised.

I could hear Charlie's voice screaming at Alistair through the phone.

Alistair held the phone out to me and I slowly reached up to take it from him, bringing to my ear.

"Dad?" I asked shakily.

"Bella… are you alright?" He asked. I could hear the strain in his voice, obviously trying not to break down.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Bella, don't worry, I'll find a way to get you out of there." Charlie promised.

I started to say something else, but Alistair ripped the phone out of my hand.

"There, you know she's alive." He said. "Now, I want fifty million dollars. And you, Swan to come deliver it himself."

_No… _

Even if Charlie could afford that - which I know he can't - if he came himself, Alistair would most likely kill him anyway.

Charlie must have said something that Alistair didn't like very much, because he looked angry for a moment, before getting that look on his face. That smug, knowing, 'I'm invincible' look.

"For every day that I don't have the money, I will torture your daughter in various ways." He said, smiling to himself.

My breath caught in my throat.

I'm going to die here.

There's no way that my parents can get fifty million dollars in a couple days. Even with Phil's baseball contract, that was only about three million _a year_.

Alistair would have tortured and raped me to death long before Charlie could get even half the money.

He said something else and ended the call.

"Let's see how fast daddy comes up with the big dough." He sneered and walked out, leaving me all alone once again.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Wake up!" A voice jarred me out of my sleep.

I did as it said and opened my eyes, jumping when I saw Alistair standing over me.

"Your daddies time is up, time for some fun." He smirked, unlocking the chains from my wrists and pulled my up by my arm.

I started to panic, fully awake now and realizing what he was saying.

It had been two days now since Alistair had called Charlie and now because he didn't have the money, I was about to be tortured or raped again.

He pulled me down the long hallway with him and I wondered where he was taking me for this. Did he have a torture dungeon set up for this or something?

I was confused when he stopped at the bathroom door and opened it, pushing me inside. He shut the door behind us and locked it.

I squeaked when he picked me up in his arms bridal style and then the next thing I know, he tosses me and I'm flying through the air, landing in what feels like a liquid iceberg. I gasped and yelled, panicking as I was surrounded by frozen water.

He had thrown me in the bathtub, which was apparently filled with the water that the Titanic went down in.

"Oh my God!" I yelled, scrambling to get out. Alistair just pushed me back in and kneeled down beside the tub.

He pulled out a knife and my panic kicked into high gear.

"No, no, no!" I screamed hysterically.

Alistair didn't listen to me, just wrapped his hand around my wrist and jerked my arm out straight. He brought the knife down, slicing through my skin like it was butter.

I screamed and cried, trying to pull away from him but he wasn't letting me go.

The cut was about three inches long and was dripping blood into the freezing water.

"Stop!" I cried.

"Shut up!" He barked at me and cut me again on a different part of my forearm.

This was what the next hour consisted of; Alistair making repeatedly cutting my arm while I screamed and cried in the ice water. I watched through tears as blood covered my arm, dripping down it into the water until it turned pink.

Cuts marred my left arm from my wrist to my shoulder. After I while I couldn't even look at all the blood anymore, so I turned my head away and sobbed, letting out screams every time the blade would cut through me.

Finally Alistair finished.

He threw the knife to the side and pulled my limp and shivering body out of the water like I was a rag doll, carrying me back to the room.

I barely noticed when he dropped me back down on the bed and leaned over me, wrapping my arm up in something.

"From now on, for everyday I don't have what I want, I'm going to repeat that process to each body part, one by one. Tomorrow, I'm gonna make it your face." He hissed, dropping my arm carelessly onto the bed and walking out.

I laid there, shivering and holding my arm to my chest. It looked like he'd wrapped it up in some kind of bandage, but my blood was already seeping through the thin gauze, turning it red in spots.

There wasn't a blanket on the bed, never has been, so I was forced to sit there and freeze, curled up to try to generate some body heat.

Eventually, I just gave up and passed out. Sleep would be better that laying here and suffering.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Bree came in the next morning to see how I was doing. Apparently I have a very high fever.

Alistair finally relented to get me a blanket, but it was itchy and only irritated my arm. Bree re-wrapped it, but didn't do much of a better job than Alistair did. At least the bleeding had stopped sometime over night.

I was just laying in the bed, waiting for Alistair to come in to get me and do it all over again.

So as the day past by, I grew more and more nervous when no one came into my room. Even Bree hadn't been in since the morning.

It wasn't normal.

And I hated the waiting. For the past couple weeks it had all been a routine, it had brought me a little comfort to know what my day would consist of. No surprises. I always knew what was going to happen and when. But this not knowing what Alistair would do and when he would do it, scared me.

I didn't have to wait much longer for something to happen though.

A young girl, about my age, came into the room. She looked different from everyone else I've seen here so far. She wasn't super thin or ragged looking, no crazy look in her eye or random twitches like Bree. Her dark red hair was full and healthy, her skin white and clear. Here eyes were a bright blue color and were currently trained on me, looking extremely unhappy about something.

The new girl slowly walked over to me and crouched down beside me.

"Bella?" She asked me softly.

"Who are you?" I mumbled. It was the only thing I could do, my fever was making me sleepy and dizzy and I couldn't speak well.

"I'm Maggie." She told me softly. "I'm here to help you."

My entire body lit up with hope, praying that meant she was going to help me get out.

"Help me… how?" I whispered.

"Jasper sent me to help keep you safe here until we can get you out." She explained. "Although, I can see I'm a little late."

Maggie's eyes wandered over my body, no doubt seeing all the damage done to my body.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I mumbled.

She laughed without a trace of humor.

"Jasper said you'd wonder. He told me to say that he calls you 'sugar'. And Rosalie threatened to slowly and painfully kill me if anything happened to you. And something about ripping my ovaries out that I thought was a little unpleasant." Maggie told me, shuddering.

I couldn't help the small smile that broke out on my face. Yep… that's Rose. And no one beside the Cullen's knew what Jasper calls me. I don't even think that Denali's would know.

"Do you know anything about Edward?" I asked desperately.

She looked at me sadly and I knew that she didn't know anything.

"I'm sorry Bella, I don't know anything on Edward. I do know that Alice is looking for him though." She said.

"Alistair said that he's dead." I whimpered.

"I… I don't know." Maggie whispered sadly.

"How did you get in?" I asked, trying to get my mind off Edward. It hurt too much.

"I've always been here. Well, not all the time." She started. "Bree is my older sister and I kind of got into this… Alistair… with her. That was a few years ago, when Edward and Jasper were here. I didn't like Alistair and neither did they, so we became the closest thing to friends we could be in a place like this. When they left, I left too. But I always come back once and while to check on Bree. Alistair doesn't care too much, so he lets me stay around for a while. I don't think his girlfriend's little sister is real high up on his list. Jasper found me and asked me to act like I was visiting Bree, but really, I'd be checking on you and helping Jasper get you out."

For a while, the only thing that registered was this girl was Bree's sister… they looked nothing alike. At all. Maybe the same skin complexion, but that's about it. Everything from their eye color to their attitudes were polar opposites.

Then I thought… She really was here to save me. Jasper knew where I was and he was coming to get me.

I could have cried for joy at that moment, but I could barely talk.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner. Oh God… what has he done to you?" Maggie whispered, tentatively reaching down to touch my bandaged arm.

"He threw me in freezing water and cut my arm up. It was horrible… There was so much blood…" I whispered, leaving out the part about him raping me. I didn't want to tell her that… couldn't form the words.

Maggie cursed under her breath and felt my forehead. "You're burning up! Can't they at least give you a decent blanket to stay warm with? And these cuts probably aren't helping your fever… they're probably infected. Bella… came I take a look at your arm?" She asked.

I nodded my head and let out whimper when she lifted my arm up.

"It's okay…" She whispered soothingly while undoing the wrap.

Maggie poked and prodded at my arm gently, turning it here and there to get a better look at the cuts on the underside of arm.

"Some of these need stitches." She muttered. "And I can tell about five of them are infected."

I didn't say anything to her… what do you say to that? I didn't really care about the details, I just wanted the pain to stop. On the outside and the inside.

"Where… where is Alistair? He was supposed to come back and hurt me some more." I asked nervously.

"Don't worry about him. He won't be coming back to hurt you." She said, winking at me.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Jasper and Emmett set up a diversion for Alistair. While he's off taking care of who he thinks are going to be Em and Jasper, we're going to get you out." She told me.

"Now?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. Alistair left about twenty minutes with a few of his men. That's how I was able to get down here. Bree is busy managing things while he's gone, so I slipped away. If things go as planned, Emmett should be here in ten minutes, maybe sooner." Maggie said as she carefully wrapped my arm back up.

Emmett… I missed him so much. His infectious humor and dimpled grin. And what I wouldn't give for some of his Belgian Waffles.

Maggie ran her fingers through my hair in a somewhat soothing manner, making me even more tired.

The door banged open, making me jerk and let out a yelp.

"Bella!" Emmett's voice exclaimed.

I couldn't have been more happy to see anyone in my life.

"Emmett!" I sobbed out painfully.

"Shhh…" He hushed me, but smiled, his dimples making themselves known.

"She's not doing good." I heard Maggie say. "At least five of the cuts on her arm are infected and she's got some deep bruising and nasty fever."

Emmett scowled and his eyes narrowed, looking like he was about to kill someone. It's the angriest I've ever seen Emmett and it was a little scary.

"It's gonna be okay, Belly B… I'm gonna get you out of here." He whispered to me reassuringly. I smiled a little at the nickname, but didn't say anything.

"Is she alright to move?" He asked Maggie.

"I think so. You'll have to carry her the whole way, though. There's no way she can walk like this." She said.

Without another word, Emmett scooped me up in his large arms.

"Careful!" Maggie chided him.

"I am being careful!" Emmett whined. I almost laughed.

"He didn't hurt me Maggie." I mumbled to her.

"See." Emmett grumbled to her childishly and stuck his tongue out at her.

I smiled, loving how even in the most serious situations, Emmett could bring humor to it.

He carried me out of the room, Maggie trailing closely behind. We went down the hallway that Alistair normally led me down, but instead of stopping at the bathroom, Emmett just kept on going. There was a staircase that Emmett carried me up.

I felt like someone should be playing the Mission Impossible theme in the background.

"Maggie, go check." Emmett whispered to her, nodding around the corner.

She tiptoed along the wall and peeked around the corner, looking around before waving Emmett forward.

The building was dark, it looked like some kind of warehouse and there were tables lined up on the far side of the room.

Before I could see anything else, we were out a door and outside.

There was a black SUV waiting, Maggie opened the back door and Emmett carefully laid me inside on the comfy leather seat and climbed in beside me. Maggie went around and got in the passenger side and then the car was moving.

Emmett pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Hey, we got her." He breathed into the phone, sounding relieved. "Yeah, yeah… we're on our way now. We'll be there in ten minutes."

Emmett hung up and focused all his attention on me.

"Bella, we're going to take you to Carlisle, he'll be able to help you with your injuries. He'll make you better." He said, whispering the last part painfully.

I smiled weakly at him, fighting not to pass out.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"Oh Belly B… you don't have to thank me for my superhero services." He said, winking and smiling at me.

I started to laugh, but it was cut off by a painful, gritty cough. That kind that you can feel deep down in your chest and grated across your throat.

_Maybe I'm sicker than I first thought…_

"Shit." Emmett mumbled and started fussing over me.

"I'm fine." I groaned painfully.

"No you're not. Rosie, can you drive any faster?" He called up front.

_Rosie… Rose was driving. _

"I'm going as fast as I can without drawing any attention to us. Don't you think I'd be going faster if I could?" She practically snarled at him.

It didn't faze him though, he just shook his head.

"God I love that woman, but sometimes I just wanna give her a Midol." He whispered to me.

"I heard that Emmett Cullen!" She yelled.

He jumped and bent further over me, like he was trying to get as far away from her as possible.

I wanted so badly to ask about Edward, but I couldn't find the words. How do you ask a man if he knows if his brother is dead or not?

In no time, Rose pulled the car into a garage. Emmett gathered me back up in his arms and lifted me out, carrying me through the garage and into a house.

"Carlisle help!" Rosalie yelled out.

Carlisle came running down the stairs, but stopped cold when he saw me.

"Oh God." He muttered.

I bet I looked like a total mess. Bloody bandages wrapped around my arm, some bruises were still apparent, I was probably pale and sickly looking, and I knew I'd lost some weight since they hadn't been feeding me much.

"Take her upstairs to one of the bedrooms." He commanded, instantly going into doctor mode.

Emmett did as he was told, practically running up the stairs with me and headed into a room. It was completely different from the room I'd been kept in the past couple weeks and I was grateful.

He gently set me down on the big, pillowy bed and stepped back, in which Rose rushed past him and sat down on the bed beside me. I heard what sounded like an elephant coming up the stairs and seconds later Jasper, Alice, and Esme stumbled into the room, tripping over themselves.

Esme started crying the moment she saw me, burying her face in her hands. Alice looked like her puppy had just been killed and the normally calm and laid back Jasper looked positively irate.

Carlisle rushed in behind them, carrying his medical bag and a few other things.

"Everyone leave." He said, coming to my side.

"I'm not going anywhere." Rosalie insisted sharply.

Carlisle hesitated and looked at me. "Bella?" He asked.

"It's okay, she can stay." I said softly.

He nodded and dug through his bag while everyone else slowly backed out the room.

Jasper hesitated, looking at me sadly before shaking his head and storming out.

I frowned, wondering why he hadn't said anything to me yet.

"It's not you sweetie." Rose whispered. "He's just upset that we couldn't get to you sooner."

Carlisle gently took my hand, pulling my arm out so he could unwrap the half ass done bandages. My arm was a mess, red lines covering almost every inch of skin and some of them did look very infected, dark pink around the cuts with some gross almost puss-like substance covering them. It was enough to make me queasy and I had to focus on Rose.

She looked horrible. Better than me, but a lot worse than what she usually looked like. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, dark circles were under her eyes, like she hadn't slept in a while, and she was pale, no hint of color in her face at all as she looked at me.

"Bella, I'm going to give you some pain medication, okay?" Carlisle asked as he frowned at my arm.

"Okay." I muttered.

"It's not strong enough to put you to sleep, but it will get rid of most, if not all of your pain. That way I'll be able to stitch some of these cuts and further examine you." He explained, getting a needle ready.

I had to calm myself down at the thought of anymore sharp objects coming near me. He carefully injected me with the pain medication, I barely felt a pinch we he slid the needle in and out of my good arm.

"Rosalie, will you please go get some more blankets? I need to break her fever." He asked her.

She got up immediately and left the room in search of what Carlisle wanted.

I jumped when he reached toward me and he noticed, freezing and glancing up at me, concerned.

"I'm fine. Go ahead." I told him quietly.

He gave me a doubtful look, but continued, slowly and carefully examining me. Rose came back in with armfuls of blankets, layering them over me. I was grateful for the warmth, I'd been freezing for days.

I sat still as he cleaned all the cuts and eventually had to stitch up seven of them. Thanks to the pain meds, I didn't feel much, but I still couldn't stand to look, so I turned my head to Rose.

"I missed you." I whispered tearfully.

A little sob came out of her and she brushed my hair behind my ear.

"I missed you too, sweetie." She said.

Carlisle wrapped we up in a proper bandage when he was finished and pulled the blankets down my legs.

I froze in panic as his eyes zeroed in on the dark bruises on my inner thighs.

"Rose, will you please leave for a minute? I need to speak with Bella privately." Carlisle said steadily.

My heart sunk, knowing deep down what he was going to ask me.

"I don't kno-"

"Rosalie, go. If Bella needs you I'll call." He said firmly.

She hesitated, giving me one last look before getting up and leaving.

"Bella, I need to know. He didn't… he didn't rape you did he?" Carlisle asked gently.

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes darted away, not looking at him as they watered.

_No, no, no…. I didn't want to think about that. I wanted to shove it aside and block it out forever. _

"Ummm… No." I said shakily, biting my lip and blinking to try to keep the tears at bay.

"Bella…"

"Just leave it alone!" I yelled at him.

"Bella, I need to know so I can take care of you. If he did rape you, there might be damage down there." Carlisle said in his serious doctor voice.

I burst into tears and his serious expression melted off his face.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to upset you." He apologized softly.

But I didn't pay any attention to him.

"I just want Edward! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry he's dead!" I sobbed incoherently.

Someone tried to wrap their arms around me, but I screamed and frantically pushed them away, backing up as far as I could.

"Sugar calm down! It's okay, Bella… shhh… Breathe…" Jasper whispered close to me.

I took in a shuddering breath, but my tears didn't stop. Arms tried to wrap around me again, slower this time, and pulled me into a warm, comforting chest. Now that I knew it was Jasper that was holding me and I welcomed it.

If I couldn't have Edward, Jasper was second best to comfort me. So I cried into his shirt, probably getting it all gross and snotty, but he didn't seem concerned with it.

"I'm so sorry Bella… I should have gotten to you sooner… I hate this." He said, sounding like he was on the verge of crying himself.

He let me cry against him for awhile, just gently rocking me and whispering apologizes to me. When I had calmed down enough, he guided me back to lay on the bed, leaning against a mountain of pillows.

"Jasper…" I croaked. "H-he did… he r-raped me." I admitted to him, tears rolling down my face again.

I could literally see his entire body shake after I said that. His fists clenched and I fought the urge to flinch away.

"I… I… Carlisle needs to take a look at you." He ground out.

"P-please don't be mad Jasper, I'm sorry! I tried to stop him, but he had me c-chained up and I couldn't move! And I remembered you s-saying that I shouldn't fight, that I should try to stay alive!" I cried.

_All I was doing lately was crying. _

"Oh no, sugar! No, I'm not upset with you! You are so incredibly strong and I'm so proud of you. I just want to get him so bad… I'll kill him for what he did to you when I get my hands on him. Let Carlisle look at you, Bella. Please. We all just want to make sure you're alright." He pleaded with me.

I shook my head violently.

"Bella… _please_. It's going to be okay. Carlisle's not going to hurt you or judge you. He's a doctor and he cares about you. This wasn't your fault. Just let us make sure you're going to be okay." Jasper insisted gently.

I knew he was right, Carlisle wouldn't make me feel ashamed of myself. The problem was, I was already doing that on my own. I didn't want anyone knowing what Alistair had done to me and I definitely didn't want anyone seeing it.

"I-I don't want anyone seeing… that." I said.

Jasper sighed. "Sugar, it's going to have to be done. We can take you to a hospital if you don't want Carlisle to do it."

I glared at him, hating him for being right. It would need to be done. I'd also probably need to get tested for an STD.

"Fine." I said hoarsely.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

After a very long, upsetting and embarrassing examination from Carlisle, he determined that there hadn't been much damage done. I'd had some bleeding and would be sore for the next few days, but nothing too horrible.

I was actually thankful that it hadn't been worse. I'd heard horror stories about some women never being about to have children after they were raped, or had to have major surgery. But that still didn't ease the memories, the feeling of being held down and violated so horribly. I hated it. All I wanted was a scalding hot shower or bath so I could try to scrub myself clean again.

Everyone was a little surprised when I asked Jasper to stay with me after Carlisle was done, but Jasper just pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down beside me.

"How long have I been gone?" I asked him.

Jasper looked down at his hands and sighed.

"It's been fifteen days." He said quietly.

Fifteen days… Jesus. I guess it could have been longer, but it still felt like it had been forever.

"Why did it take so long?" I asked.

"The hard part was finding you." He started, rubbing his face tiredly. "We looked everywhere for you in all of Alistair's hiding places. We were starting to get worried that he'd done something with you and ran. But then, I remembered Maggie and it took us a couple days to find her. She agreed to help us, but it still took her a couple more days to find Bree. Alistair likes to move around a lot, never staying in one location for more than a couple months. Then we had to come up with a plan to get you out of there safely, which meant drawing Alistair away and finding a way to get into and through the building to you quickly. Our Uncle Aro was able to have his computer guy cut the cameras that were set up through the warehouse, but it could only last for a few minutes without there being any suspicion."

"My dad!" I suddenly remembered. "Alistair… he called my dad and asked for ransom money."

"How much?" Jasper asked, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Fifty million dollars." I told him.

He snorted and shook his head. "No one can get that kind of money in a day or two. He set an impossible standard, knowing your father wouldn't be able to meet it, giving Alistair what was an excuse in his mind."

"Can someone call him and tell him I'm safe?" I asked.

"Of course. I'll have Esme call him." He assured me.

"Alistair… he said something about my dad leading some investigation against him." I said, trying to remember what it was that Alistair told me.

Jasper nodded and sighed. "It was a while after Edward and I cut off from him, not liking where he was taking the business. He was starting to want to get into drugs hardcore and neither of us liked that at all. Around a year later, we saw on the news that his business had been busted, but Alistair wasn't among those who were caught. His older brother Randall was though, and all the lower level workers. About a hundred people all together, plus all the drugs. It was a disaster. We completely distanced ourselves from it and never mentioned it again. The police didn't even suspect us of any involvement. I'm just so fucking sorry that you had to caught in the middle of it all. You didn't deserve that." He reached for my hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it.

"Jasper I…" I started, but trailed off, loosing my nerve.

I almost didn't want to know… I didn't want it confirmed from someone I trusted and would tell me the truth…

"What is it sugar? You can ask me anything." He said strongly.

"I have to know… is… Edward d-dead?" I asked, choking on the words and tears building back up.

"He's not dead." Jasper said softly.

"Jasper… please don't do this to me. Please… don't give me hope." I began to sob.

"No! I know he's alive. Our Uncle Aro found something that you probably want to see." Jasper said, standing up to grab a laptop from the table with a flash drive hooked into it.

He opened it up and pressed some keys, propping it on the bed for me to see. On the screen, it looked like a video from a street camera was playing. I counted the seconds, looking at nothing but the side of a brick building and the street, until my eyes caught movement.

_Edward._

I'd know him anywhere.

The footage was grainy, but I could tell it was him. His copper hair reflected the light off a streetlamp and he was still wearing the clothes he had on from the night we went to the club. I could tell that his arms were tied behind his back and he was wearing a blindfold.

He wasn't alone, either.

There were four men around him, three of which I could tell were holding guns and one was holding a gun to Edward's head while they walked inside the building.

Jasper fast-forwarded the video a couple hours and I saw Edward and the same men coming out of the building. He was still tied up and looked a mess. I could tell that he'd taken some beatings.

Then just as quick as he appeared on the screen, he disappeared.

"We checked the building, but there wasn't anything there that would be useful in finding out where they went." Jasper said.

"When was that?" I asked breathlessly.

"About two days ago." He said.

Two days… Edward was still alive two days ago. He probably was still alive.

That entire time, Alistair had been lying to me.

I was furious, hurt and wanted to kill Alistair even more, but most of all, I was relieved. Edward was still alive. There was still hope for me to see him, touch him, kiss him, tell him how sorry I was about this whole mess and that I love him.

"We have to find him." I breathed out, refusing to take my eyes his image on the computer screen.

"We have people looking for him right now." Jasper said.

"No. I want to find him." I said.

"Excuse me?" Jasper asked, sounding taken aback.

"It's my fault… Alistair said that he only wanted me. If I hadn't have been there… if Edward hadn't have been with me, he wouldn't be in the mess. He wouldn't have been taken, or being beat up or tortured. _I _need to find him." I told him.

"But you're-"

"Jasper! Please… let me do this. Let me help." I pleaded.

"Alright. But, you have to have _at least _a week of down time!" He stipulated.

I frowned, but agreed.

I'd listen to Jasper and Carlisle, but when I did get better, there would be nothing that could stop me from finding Edward.

* * *

***ducks everything you're throwing at me* **

**I know, I know. When I originally posted this, I got a lot of people saying the things done to Bella in this chapter were unnecessary, but I do not feel that way.**

**I WILL BE POSTING THE SEQUEL TOMORROW.**

**I want to thank everyone for reading this and for all of your amazing reviews.**


End file.
